3 Bangladeshis shot at Sylhet border

Sylhet, July 4 (bdnews24.com)–Three Bangladeshi farmers were shot allegedly by Indians at Jaintapur Upazila in Sylhet on Sunday.

They were Delwar Hossain, Mohammad Kayes, Abdul Mannan of village Minatila in the bordering Sripur area. They were admitted to Upazila Health Complex.

Seven more Bangladeshis suffered injuries from arrows thrown by the Indian Khasia tribesmen.

Kohinur Alam, deputy commander of 21 Rifles Battalion, said the Khasia people began cultivating inside 200 yards of the Bangladesh territory at Minatila and Kathalbari around 10:30am.

Bangladeshis asked them to leave, but they continued with cultivation that prompted a clash with both groups chasing each other, he said.

The situation came under control at the intervention of the Bangladesh Rifles and the Khasias went back to the Indian territory, Kohinur said.

They came back to the Bangladesh territory again at around 2pm. As the Bangladeshi people obstructed them fires were shot from the Indian territory leaving three farmers shot and wounded, the BDR official added.

After the incident locals blocked the Sylhet-Tamabil road in front of Sripur border outpost camp for an hour and ransacked the BDR camp alleging that the Bangladesh border guards did nothing, Sylhet district superintendent of police Sakhawat Hossain said.

Indian Khasias have been cultivating at Minatila, Alutila, Kathalbari on the border land inside the Bangladesh territory for around 10 days defying the Bangladeshi border guards' ban.

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