MOHAMMAD JAMIL KHAN, from Cox’s Bazar

The chief of Border Guard Bangladesh issued a stern warning yesterday, saying that continued killings by the Indian Border Security Force will prompt a “stronger response”.

“We have made it very clear that such incidents are unacceptable and cannot be tolerated under any circumstances,” BGB Director General Maj Gen Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said.

“If this goes on, then how long can we continue to arrest and handover the Indian intruders in line with the legal framework, the way we now do?” he added.

His remarks came in reply to a reporter’s query after a flag raising ceremony in Cox’s Bazar as another Bangladeshi was killed in BSF firing, along the border in Brahmanbaria.

Maj Gen Siddiqui said killing can never be the ultimate solution to any situation and BGB will continue protesting such incidents. “If another killing occurs, we will take an even tougher stance.”

According to BGB, 24 Bangladeshis were killed along the border last year, including 19 by BSF and five by Indian nationals. The number of Bangladeshis injured by BSF and Indian nationals last year was 68 and nine respectively.

The latest victim is Md Al-Amin, 32, who was shot dead by BSF at the Putia border of Kasba upazila in Brahmanbaria on Friday evening.

Citing BGB, Kasba Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mohammad Samiul Islam said Al-Amin, son of Sultan Miah from South Putia village, was spotted roaming beyond the barbed-wire fence on the Putia border. Suspecting him to be a smuggler, BSF personnel opened fire, critically injuring him. Later, BSF rescued him and took him to Bishalgarh Sub-Divisional Hospital in India, where he succumbed to his injuries later.

Naik Subedar Abu Bakkar, in charge of the Saldanadi camp under BGB’s Battalion-60, said BSF fired a single

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