BGB protests over border killings: Foreign minister

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has protested against the recent deaths of two Bangladeshi nationals in firings by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) along the Lalmonirhat and Naogaon border.

Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud made the disclosure while talking to the newsmen at his office in Dhaka on Thursday.

The two Bangladeshi nationals died in the bordering areas on 25 and 26 March. In the face of queries in this regard, the foreign minister said some Bangladeshi people cut off the barbed wire fence and crossed the border.

Citing the BSF, Minister Hasan Mahmud said the BSF challenged the trespassers but got surrounded since the latter were higher in number.

At this point, the BSF men opened fire and two of the trespassers sustained injuries. One managed to return to Bangladesh, while the other succumbed to his injuries while being treated at a hospital on the other side.

A similar trespassing led to another incident along the Naogaon border. The BGB held a border meeting with the BSF and lodged a protest in this regard, he said.

The minister noted their efforts to minimise the border killings and said they have long been discussing the issue with the neighbouring nation.

“During my recent visit to India, I held significant discussion so that non-lethal weapons are used along the border. Now, weapons that are less-deadly are being used. Therefore, some people sustain injuries in rubber bullets and return home,” he added.

Asked if the foreign ministry will protest the border killings, the minister said, “We want such incidents to not recur. On behalf of the government, it has been protested through the BGB. There was a border meeting.”