Man shot dead by Khasias along Sylhet border
BGB stated that the group had crossed the border with the intention of bringing in a drug consignment
A Bangladeshi man was shot dead by members of the Indian Khasia community along the border area of Companiganj upazila in Sylhet last night (9 April), marking the second such fatality in the area within nine days.
The deceased was identified as Saleh Ahmed Joydhar, 30, a resident of Karbalartuk village near Dayarbazar in Companiganj.
Lt Col Md Nazmul Haque, commander of the Border Guard Bangladesh's Sylhet Battalion-48, said the incident occurred at around 8:30pm when Saleh and two associates entered nearly a kilometre into Indian territory through the border.
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The BGB official stated that the group had crossed the border with the intention of bringing in a drug consignment.
While they were positioned between the Changket and Markan betel nut grove inside India, members of the Khasia community, suspecting them to be thieves, opened fire with shotguns, he added.
Saleh died on the spot. His two associates, identified as Suman Mia, 25, and Masum Ahmed, 20, managed to carry Saleh's body back to Bangladesh.
According to the BGB, all three individuals had long been involved in the illegal transport of goods across the border.
Shafiqul Islam, officer-in-charge of Companiganj Police Station, confirmed that police were dispatched to the scene to conduct an inquest on the body.
Previously, on 1 April, another man, Saddam Hossain, was shot dead by the Khasias in the Rajantila area, about 600 yards inside the Indian border near the same upazila.
Saddam, a resident of Lama Uttama village and son of freedom fighter Kutu Miah, was allegedly part of a group that had entered the area to steal betel nuts. Another man, Farhad Mia, was injured in that incident.
