Bangladeshi wounded in BSF firing at Patgram border

A Bangladeshi national, Shahidul Islam, 44, has been injured in firing by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on the other side of the Patgram border in Lalmonirhat.

The incident took place at the Maynatali village of India's Cooch Behar district, which falls  on the other side of the border from the Jagatbari union under Patgram upazila on Sunday morning.

Shahidul Islam is a resident of Kashirdanga village in Jagatbari union. His father is Jobed Ali.

About the incident, Subedar Jahangir Alam, the company commander of the Shamshernagar BGB battalion-61 (Teesta-2) battalion, said, “The injured person is a cattle smuggler (Dangowal). A flag meeting was held at the border on Sunday. The commander of the Mirrapa BSF camp and others were present. We have strongly protested the incident.”

According to BGB and local sources, a group of four to five cattle smugglers, including Shahidul Islam, crossed through the area of the main pillar-859 and sub-pillar-4  at Jagatbari union's border to bring cattle from Maynatali village in Cooch Behar’s Mathabhanga police station area.

They were assisted by an Indian cattle smuggling group. Members of BSF’s battalion-169 in Raninagar fired several shots at them from the Buraburi camp. Shahidul was shot in the leg. His companions rescued him and took him to Rangpur for treatment that night. He is receiving treatment secretly in Rangpur.

Abubakar Siddique, a member of the Jagatbari union parishad, said, “I heard about the incident from the locals. Shahidul was injured by BSF gunfire while bringing cattle from India. He was shot in the leg and is now receiving treatment in Rangpur.”