Baharampur incident was unfortunate, says BGB chief, urges caution

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Director General Maj Gen Md Shafeenul Islam has described as ‘unfortunate’ the incident in Thakurgaon’s Baharampur on Feb 12 which saw three people shot dead in clashes between the troopers and locals over the seizure of a cow.

Thakurgaon Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 18 Feb 2019, 02:36 PM
Updated : 18 Feb 2019, 02:38 PM

Speaking to the media in the Thakurgaon Circuit House on Monday, the BGB chief said: "This is an unfortunate incident. I spoke to the people in the area and we all agreed that this incident was uncalled-for. Both locals and BGB personnel will exercise greater caution to avoid such an incident in future."

According to the local administration, BGB personnel raided Baharampur under the Bokua Union in Haripur Upazila on Feb 12 on suspicion of cows being smuggled into the village. They had seized a few cows and loaded them onto a truck when locals intervened.

But the BGB said that the villagers attacked them after BGB troopers seized a stolen cow. The BGB retaliated by opening fire on them, killing two farmers and a Secondary School Certificate examinee. At least 20 more were injured in the incident.

According to the BGB, they were forced to open fire when the smugglers attacked them with sharp weapons en route to the border outpost.

But locals alleged that they were on their way to the market to sell the cows when the BGB seized the livestock. BGB personnel had been seizing cattle from the village for nearly a month, they added.

On Feb 15, the BGB started two criminal cases in Thakurgaon against 19 people, including two slain victims, and 250 unidentified people in connection with the incident.

Asked whether the cases against the villagers will be withdrawn, Gen Shafeenul said, "We have discussed the matter with the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police in Thakurgaon. We will look into the matter In Sha Allah.”

A five-member ‘high level’ investigation committee has been formed by the BGB to look into the incident at Baharampur, he said, adding that further action will be taken on the basis of the report by the committee.

Asked whether the matter could have been resolved by the BGB without using their firearms, the BGB director general said, "The matter is under investigation. The report will tell us what should have been done and why shots were fired. I cannot make any statements before the investigation ends.”

"We will try our best to provide whatever assistance is needed for the families of the victims once the investigation is completed.”