FIR against B’desh force over BSF jawan killing

Kolkata, October 19

An FIR has been lodged against the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) over the killing of a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan earlier this week, a senior police officer said. A Bangladesh border guard on Thursday fired from his AK-47 rifle during a ‘flag meeting’ along the international boundary in West Bengal, killing BSF head constable Vijay Bhan Singh (51) and injuring another jawan, Rajvir Yadav.

A BSF statement said the incident took place in Murshidabad district around 9 am when its team approached the BGB troops in the middle of the Padma river to resolve an issue linked to Indian fishermen. “Yes, we have received a complaint from the BSF. A case has been registered and probe is on,” said Murshidabad SP Mukesh Kumar.

The BSF officials confirmed police have lodged an FIR against the BGB. Refuting claims by the Bangladesh border force that its patrol team “had to open fire in self-defence”, a senior BSF official said not a single bullet was fired from the Indian side.

“Although an inquiry has been ordered by the BSF, we still decided to lodge a complaint with the police, in accordance with the norms. The allegation by the BGB that we had fired first is not just absurd but a blatant lie. We didn’t fire a single bullet,” a senior BSF official said. — PTI