A team of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) recovered a man’s body from the Ichhamati River near the Bangladesh-India border in Debhata upazila, Satkhira on Sunday evening.
The victim’s family claimed that Rubel Hossain, 23, was tortured to death by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) on his way back to Debhata from India on Wednesday night.
Rubel, along with his companions Kawsar Ali and Asadul, from Harhadda village in Satkhira Sadar upazila, had gone to India to bring cattle. As they were crossing the Ichhamati back to Bangladesh, BSF arrested Kawsar.
Meanwhile, a BSF patrol team chased Rubel in the river and ran him over with their speedboat, which severely injured him. Later they picked him up on their boat and tortured him, before dumping him back in the river, causing him to die.
Asadul, who managed to cross the river, was arrested by the BGB and handed over to police.
Lt Col Khalid Bin Yousuf, captain of 34 BGB Battalion, told the Dhaka Tribune that whether the BSF had actually been involved in Rubel’s death could not be confirmed yet.
However, members of the 34th battalion said they had received word that the BSF had indeed tortured Rubel to death. They also refuted Rubel’s family’s claim that they had crossed over to bring cattle, and said Rubel and his companions had gone to work in a brick field.