Bangladeshi shot dead inside Indian territory

A Bangladeshi man was "shot dead" and another injured allegedly by a group of villagers inside Indian territory near the Utma border in Sylhet's Companiganj upazila yesterday noon.

The dead, Babul Hossain, 20, was from Lamagram village in the upazila, BGB officials said, adding that injured Koyes Miah, 20, a resident of the same village, was on the run since the incident.

The incident occurred around 800 metres inside Indian border when the two crossed the border allegedly to steal pineapples from a Khasi village, said Lt Col Ahmed Yusuf Jamil, commanding officer of BGB 48 Battalion in Sylhet.

"Seeing them, the villagers opened fire on them, leaving one dead on the spot and another injured," he said, adding that they recovered the body in the afternoon and sent it to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.

Jamil also said, "We are vigilant at the border and continuing awareness campaign among locals. We urge all people in bordering areas not to risk their life by entering India."

So far, five Bangladeshis were killed either by Indian Khasia citizens of bordering villages or Indian Border Security Force in three bordering upazilas of Sylhet in the last three months.