Srinagar:

Three Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers were killed and six were injured when the bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in Jammu and Kashmir’s Budgam district, the police said.

The six injured soldiers are critical, the police said.

The 52-seater vehicle was part of a seven-bus convoy going for the BSF’s induction for deployment for the next phase of the assembly election, the police said, adding 35 BSF soldiers were travelling in it.

The bus went off the hilly road and fell 40-feet on its side, the police said. All the injured BSF personnel are being treated in a hospital.

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities.
| Photo Credit: PTI

GUWAHATI

The Meghalaya Government handed over the body of Awami League leader Ishaque Ali Khan Panna to Bangladeshi authorities on Saturday (August 31, 2024).

Panna was found dead at an inclined betel nut plantation in the Dona Bhoi area of the State’s East Jaintia Hills district on August 26. The spot is about 1.5 km from the India-Bangladesh border.

Officials in Meghalaya said the Bangladesh government had deputed an official to collect the body from the district’s Khliehriat Civil Hospital. The body was handed over to the representative of Dhaka after identification and necessary paperwork.

The Awami League leader’s body was then taken to a friendship gate of the Border Security Force and the Border Guard Bangladesh at Dawki, from where it was taken to Bangladesh’s Pirojpur district via Tamabil across the border.

Police officials in Meghalaya said Panna was identified from a passport found on his body. The State Government did not share the post-mortem report but the local media cited unnamed police officials to claim he died due to asphyxia after being throttled.

Earlier, the Meghalaya Government informed New Delhi and Dhaka about the recovery of the body. Deputy Chief Minister Prestone Tynsong, also the Home Minister, said on Friday (August 30, 2024) that the relatives of the deceased identified the body and they were on their way to Meghalaya.

“The exact cause of death will be known after the forensic test report is received and the case will be probed further,” he said.

Kolkata:

A Bangladeshi smuggler was killed in retaliatory firing by Border Security Force (BSF) jawans in West Bengal’s Malda district early on Monday.

The BSF personnel were forced to open fire in self-defence after being attacked by two groups of criminals. The smuggler, who was gunned down, was later identified as Abdullah, a resident of Rishipara village in Bangladesh’s Chapainawabganj district.

“In the dark, one of our jawans used his passive night vision binoculars (PNVB) and spotted 5-6 people moving towards Bangladesh from the Indian side with headloads. The jawan immediately rushed forward in an attempt to intercept them. However, before he could do so, 5-6 hiding miscreants attacked him with sharp-edged weapons.

“The jawan was forced to fire a round in self-defence. This did not deter the smugglers though and as they kept moving towards border. Hearing the shot, another jawan rushed forward and came under attack by the group. He too fired a round in self-defence. The smugglers then fled back further inside Indian territory.

“The company commander of the Chandnichawk Border Outpost rushed to the spot with reinforcements and located the injured man inside deep foliage. Sharp weapons were found lying around. He was moved to a hospital in Mahesail, Murshidabad, where he died during treatment,” said A K Arya, DIG and spokesperson, BSF, South Bengal Frontier.

Rishipara is 4.5 km inside Bangladesh from the International Border.

According to the BSF, Abdullah had crossed the security cordon of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to enter India in an attempt to smuggle out bidi leaves. According to Arya, similar attacks on BSF jawans were carried out along the International Border in Murshidabad, Nadia and North 24-Parganas districts.

While praising the alert BSF jawans, Arya said: “Despite frequent flag meetings with the BGB to alert them about the ongoing attacks and infiltration by Bangladeshi criminals, no concrete action has been taken. This inaction has emboldened the smugglers and criminals. Nevertheless, our jawans remain steadfast in protecting our borders and ensuring the security of our nation under all circumstances.”

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Agartala:

Altogether 17 Indian workers engaged in road construction in Bangladesh and stranded due to the ongoing unrest were evacuated by the BSF, an official said on Thursday.

BSF Tripura Frontier IG Patel Piyush Purusottam Das received a call about the workers’ situation on Wednesday evening, the official added.

“Due to unrest in Bangladesh, the workers were stranded at their camp in Ramrail. They were en route to ICP Akhaura from the Bangladesh side, and a request was made to the BSF to facilitate their safe passage through ICP Agartala,” a BSF official said, adding that contact was promptly established at the nodal officer level between the BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB).

“In a well-coordinated operation, the BSF and BGB worked together effectively. The BGB assisted the 17 AFCONS workers, ensuring their safe movement to ICP Agartala, where their customs and immigration were cleared late at night before handing them over to the BSF,” the official added. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)