Delhi calls for respect for boundary after Bangladesh protests killing of its citizens in India

New Delhi: After Dhaka protested against the recent killing of three miscreants who crossed over from Bangladesh to a village in Tripura in northeastern India, New Delhi on Friday asked the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus in the neighbouring country to ensure respect for the international boundary.

Three citizens of Bangladesh were killed after they crossed over to the territory of India on October 15, attempted to steal cattle from Bidyabil in Tripura, and, on being confronted, attacked the local villagers with choppers and knives. One of the villagers in India’s territory was killed by the intruders from Bangladesh. Later, the other villagers arrived on the scene and resisted the attempt to take away the cattle across the border.

The Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi stated that when the local authorities reached the scene, two of the three Bangladeshi ‘smugglers’ were found dead and a third lying injured in the territory of India. The injured later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. The mortal remains of the three were handed over by the Indian officials to their Bangladeshi counterparts, according to the MEA.

Bangladesh termed the killing of its citizens in India as an “unacceptable” and “heinous act” as well as “a grave violation of human rights and rule of law”.

The Government of Bangladesh, in a statement issued by its Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dhaka on Friday, underscored that all individuals, irrespective of their nationality, were entitled to the full protection of their human rights, regardless of which side of the border they might inadvertently find themselves in.

Yunus’s interim government in Dhaka expressed its “serious concern over this deplorable incident” and called upon the Government of India “to conduct an immediate, impartial and transparent investigation into the incident” and “take sincere efforts to stop the recurrence of such inhumane acts”.

New Delhi noted that a case had been registered in connection with the killing of an Indian villager and three smugglers from Bangladesh.

“This incident underscores the need for Bangladesh to undertake necessary measures to uphold the sanctity of the International Boundary and support the construction of fencing where needed to prevent cross-border crimes and smuggling,” the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi said in a statement issued in response to the one released in Dhaka.