India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has released the detained Bangladeshi policeman from the border area under Panchagarh Sadar upazila.
Omar Faruque was handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) through a flag meeting held at Bangladeshi territory near the Bangladesh-India border pillar no 753 at around 6:40pm Monday.
BSF's 21st battalion Commandant GS Tomar and BGB 56th battalion Commanding Officer Abdullah Al Mamun presided over the meeting.
Faruque, a constable stationed at the Panchagarh District and Sessions Judge Court, was later taken to the BGB Ghagra BOP.
He will be handed over to the Panchagarh District Police following all necessary legal procedures.
Till the filing of this report, Panchagarh Additional Superintendent of Police (Sadar Circle) Sudarshan Kumar Roy and Panchagarh Sadar police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Jamal Hossain remained at the Ghagra BOP.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Local union parishad member Yusuf Ali said: “He [Faruque] was assaulted. His head has been bandaged.”
Earlier on Sunday, BSF detained Faruque from the Harivasa-Mominpara-Ghagra border area.
According to locals, three policemen -- including Omar and Mosharraf Hossain -- had crossed over to Indian territory through that portion of the border around 8:30pm that day.
There, they got into an altercation with several Indian citizens.
At one point, the Indians assaulted the policemen and held Omar captive while his other colleagues managed to escape.
Later, members of a nearby BSF camp intervened and detained Omar.
Locals alleged that the Indians who got into the altercation were drug dealers.
Following the incident, BGB’s 56th battalion Commanding Officer Abdullah Al Mamun sent a letter to the BSF for a flag meeting in this regard.
Both police and BGB initially confirmed Omar’s detention by BSF, but no officials agreed to comment on why the three policemen were on the other side of the border.
