Indian border force should be cautious and use non-lethal weapons while guarding the border with Bangladesh, Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen said on Monday, reports The Hindu.
He told media that Bangladesh has identified the areas where people have died in firing from the border guards and Dhaka is planning to station more forces at those hot spots to prevent casualties.
“The Border Security Force (BSF) needs to be more careful while enforcing law in the border areas. They can arrest and bring our citizens to us if they are found violating law but killing our nationals is not welcome,” The Hindu quoted Momen as saying.
The foreign minister also urged Indian authorities to act according to bilateral understanding.
The comment came in response to the reported lynching of three citizens of Bangladesh in Assam’s Karimganj on Sunday.
Police in Karimganj have alleged that the three had come to steal cattle.
“There is no need for us to bring cattle from elsewhere. We have enough cattle of our own," said Momen in response.
Though the incident in Karimganj is being investigated, officials in Dhaka urged the border guards of India and the common people to treat Bangladesh nationals according to agreed principles.
“We have identified the border areas where our people have been killed in the recent past. We have conducted an internal discussion about how to prevent such incidents. This is a very small part of the border and we are considering deploying more forces in such areas to avoid the frequent tragedies,” said Momen.
