The Border Security Force (BSF) troops on June 9 shot dead a Bangladeshi national at a border location in Sepahijala district while attempting to smuggle goods. This is the second fatality caused by BSF firing in Tripura this year, following a similar incident on March 17 at the Magroli border in the north district.
The victim, identified as Anwar Hussain (35), was from Mirpur village in Comilla district of Bangladesh and was reportedly involved in smuggling sugar. Tripura Frontier of the BSF in a statement said the shooting was in self-defence as a large group of armed smugglers attacked BSF troops at the Kalamchera border outpost.
The statement also identified Constable Rajeev Kumar as the one who fired from his INSAS rifle. The incident took place about 150 yards inside Indian territory, and the Kalamchera border has been tense since June 2 when Bangladeshi smugglers attacked a BSF jawan and snatched his service weapon and wireless radio set.
The Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) was able to recover the stolen items and return them to the BSF.
The body of the deceased Bangladeshi man has been kept in the morgue and a post-mortem has been conducted, local police officers said. The remains will be returned to his family in Bangladesh after a scheduled flag meeting between BSF and BGB tomorrow.