BSF ‘beat up’ Bangladeshi men stray into India

India's border guards have allegedly thrashed two Bangladeshi men at the entry gate of the Dahagram-Angarpota Tin Bigha corridor in Patgram upazila of Lalmonirhat, reports UNB.

Dahagram-Angarpota is a Bangladeshi enclave in India, about 200 metres from the international border. It is linked to mainland Bangladesh through the Tin Bigha Corridor, which is situated in Patgram upazila.

Locals claimed that Joynal Abedin, 32, Al Mamun, 40, were caught and tortured by the Border Security Force (BSF) after they "accidentally" strayed into India through the corridor on Monday.

The duo had narrated their ordeal, after their release by the Indian border guards.

Later that day, a flag meeting was held between the BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) after the latter lodged a strong protest over the incident with their Indian counterparts.

Movement through the Tin Bigha corridor was also halted for two hours that day in the wake of the incident.

At the flag meeting, two company commanders of the Indian border guards also expressed their regret over the incident, Nazrul Islam, company commander of the 51 Border Guards Bangladesh Panbari camp, told the journalists.

“After getting information about the incident, we immediately protested and called a flag meeting. At the flag meeting, the BSF expressed its regret over the beating of the two Bangladeshi men and promised that such incidents would not happen again,” he said.