Bangladeshi shot dead by ‘Myanmar border troops’

A man died hours after he was shot allegedly by Myanmar Border Guard Police in the Naf river of Teknaf in Cox's Bazar on Saturday.

Mohammad Islam, 35, a resident of the area, was shot while he was fishing around 5:30pm on Saturday, his relatives said.

Around 7:30pm, local fishermen found him and took him to Teknaf Upazila Health Complex from where he was sent to the Sadar Hospital in Cox's Bazar, said Sajjad Hossain, a doctor at the health complex's emergency unit.

Islam succumbed at the Sadar hospital around 10:00pm, Resident Medical Officer SM Nawshad Riyad told The Daily Star.

Witnesses said Islam and another fisherman went into the Naf river on a small boat for fishing.

Myanmar's BGP personnel, who were patrolling on a speedboat in their territory, opened fire, leaving one of the fishermen injured.

Lt Col Mohammad Foysal Hasan Khan of Border Guard Bangladesh Battalion-2 said a letter was being sent to the Myanmar BGP to stop "unexpected deaths" on the border.

BGP will also be requested to maintain their protocol to stop such killings, he said.

Talking to the correspondent, Inspector of Teknaf Model Police Station Md Abdul Alim said police are looking into the matter.