Bangladesh warns border bloodshed could strain ties with India after fresh BSF shooting
The senior leader of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who also serves as the party’s senior joint secretary general, said ordinary Indians also did not support such incidents along the frontier.
Bangladesh has expressed concern over recent shootings along its border with India, saying such incidents could affect relations between the two neighbouring countries.
Speaking on Sunday, Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s political adviser, Ruhul Kabir Rizvi, said Dhaka remained interested in maintaining positive ties with New Delhi. However, he warned that repeated violence along the border was damaging the relationship.
“We want friendly relations, but good ties cannot be maintained if the border is repeatedly turned bloody,” PM's political adviser Ruhul Kabir Rizvi said on Sunday.
His remarks came after two suspected Bangladeshi smugglers were shot dead by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) in Tripura’s Sepahijala district on Friday night. The bodies were later handed over to family members through the Kamalasagar Border Outpost in the presence of officials from both the BSF and Border Guards Bangladesh.
Rizvi raised the issue while addressing the national convention of diploma engineers. Referring to the latest incident, he said, “Even yesterday (Saturday), two people were shot dead at the Brahmanbaria border.”
The senior leader of the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who also serves as the party’s senior joint secretary general, said ordinary Indians also did not support such incidents along the frontier.
During his speech, Rizvi also commented on recent state elections in India. He described the polls as “entirely an internal matter” to be decided by the people of India.
About the incident
The incident took place at Pathariadwar, a village along the border, when BSF troops on routine patrol allegedly noticed a group of around 15 Bangladeshi nationals attempting to smuggle fish fingerlings into India.
According to police, the situation turned violent after the group was stopped by the security personnel.
"On being challenged, the smugglers started pelting stones at BSF troops and in self-defence, the jawans opened fire from PAG (Pump Action Guns) guns, resulting in two suspected persons falling on the ground," said Ujjal Choudhury, Officer in Charge (OC) of Madhupur police station.
The injured men were later taken by BSF personnel to a nearby health centre, where doctors declared them dead, he added.
Police said post-mortem examinations were conducted before the bodies were handed over to the victims’ relatives. The handover took place in the presence of officials from both the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), following bilateral procedures at a location under the Kamalasagar border outpost (BOP).
"No complaint was lodged by the BGB authority over the incident," he said.