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Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla at the foreign ministry yesterday.

According to data compiled by rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra, at least 43 Bangladeshi citizens were killed by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) in 2019, a threefold increase from the 14 in the previous year.

“I said you are our friend. Killing is not right. He [Shringla] said they will try their best to stop it,” Momen told reporters.

Momen also told Shringla that India has some “internal issues” that sometimes become a concern for people in Bangladesh.

The foreign minister did not specify the “internal issues”. However, the National Register of Citizenship, which excluded 19 lakh people in Assam in August last year, and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) passed in December last year triggered violent protests in India.

Recent violence in Delhi over the CAA left 42 people dead and over 200 injured. India maintains these are its internal issues and won’t have any impact on Bangladesh.

Eminent citizens in Bangladesh expressed concern over the Delhi violence, while some Islamic and left political parties have demonstrated against such violence.

“I said we want you not to do anything that creates problems for us. He [Shringla] said the issues are temporary and won’t create problems for us,” Momen said.

Momen said Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Bangladesh on March 17-18 to attend the birth centenary celebration of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

India is the biggest contributor to the independence of Bangladesh. The two countries share common democratic values, tradition and history, and Bangladesh will pay the highest respect to the Indian PM during his visit, he said.

“We will also expect our guests to be aware of the expectations and concerns of our people.”

Meanwhile, Dhaka has asked about the Delhi violence during Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Masud Bin Momen’s meeting with Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a foreign ministry official told The Daily Star.

Shringla said they were investigating if the violence was instigated by any third party, he said without elaborating.