Four BSF officials suspended

India's Border Security Force (BSF) has suspended four of its officials on the charge of "procedural lapses" in connection with the killing of two Bangladeshi nationals along the border in West Bengal earlier this week.

The officials taken off from active duty include an assistant sub-inspector and three non-commissioned officers, reports our New Delhi correspondent Pallab Bhattacharya.

According to BSF sources, two Bangladeshis were killed in firing during the intervening night of June 11-12 when they were allegedly trying to smuggle in cattle from across the border in South Bengal frontier of the force.

The sources said a BSF patrol, including these personnel, tried to stop them but were beaten up with sticks (lathis) and were attacked, after which the troops opened fire killing two Bangladeshi nationals and injuring another.

However, the four officials were found to have not reported the incident correctly to their superiors, after which they were placed under suspension for "procedural lapses".

BSF officials, however, said the encounter and firing were genuine and carried out by following all proper procedures but the act of not providing correct details and sequence of the incident proved costly for the four men for which an inquiry is underway.

A court of inquiry has also been ordered against the four officials.

The BSF Act has specific clauses for those who do not carry out their duties properly and hence they have been booked under these charges and not on the clauses of fake encounter, they said.

The suspended officials were also badly injured in the incident and are under medical care now, sources said.

BSF officials said the four officials who were suspended belonged to the 40th Battalion of the BSF deployed at Andrail border outpost opposite Bangladesh's Putkhali border outpost manned by BGB.

They were identified as Head Constable YN Bhatt, Assistant Sub-Inspector Narayan Singha, Constables Prasenjit Das and Mohammed Ayub Ali.