Our Correspondent, Sylhet

A Bangladeshi was shot dead allegedly by a group of villagers inside Indian territory near Kendribil in Sylhet’s Jaintapur upazila yesterday morning.

The victim, Makbul Hossain, 25, was the son of Jamshed Ali of Kendri village in the upazila.

The incident happened when four Bangladeshis, including Makbul, crossed the Indian border allegedly to smuggle something in the morning, said Lt Col Ahmed Yusuf Jamil, commanding officer of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Battalion-48 in Sylhet.

“Seeing them, indigenous Khasi villagers opened fire on the four Bangladeshis, leaving Makbul dead on the spot,” he said, adding that the other fellow Bangladeshis brought the body inside Bangladesh territory and then fled the place.

Golam Dastagir, officer-in-charge of Jaintapur Police Station, said, “On information, we recovered the body from the border and sent it to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for an autopsy.

“A group of villagers often go inside Indian territory to smuggle things like betel nut and logs of wood,” he said.

Quoting locals, the OC added that Khasi people opened fire on four Bangladeshis as they had an altercation with them after they entered India.

BGB-48 Battalion’s commanding officer also said, “We are vigilant at the border and continue awareness campaign among locals. But it is not improving the situation as local union parishad representatives are not cooperating.

“We urge all people not to risk their life by entering India,” he said.