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.

Dhaka:

A retired judge of Bangladesh’s Supreme Court was detained from the northeastern frontier with India in Sylhet while he was allegedly attempting to flee the country, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said late on Friday.

The report came hours after the arrest of Awami League leader ASM Firoz from his residence.

The BGB headquarters, in an SMS, informed reporters that they have detained former top appellate division judge of the Supreme Court Shamsuddin Chowdhury Manik as he was trying to cross over to India through Sylhet’s Kanaighat border.

Newspaper Prothom Alo said Manik was kept at a BGB outpost till midnight citing the camp’s in-charge.

Bangladesh descended into chaos after ousted premier Sheikh Hasina’s government collapsed and she fled to India on August 5 amid violent protests over quota for government jobs, while the Army stepped in to fill the power vacuum.

Before that, anti-government protests had killed more than 500 people since mid-July. Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus took oath as the Chief Adviser of the interim government on August 8.

Since August 5, a number of leaders of the deposed regime, including senior ministers, have been arrested — many of them on murder charges.

The Bangladesh Army has earlier said that several hundred leaders of Hasina’s Awami League and others have been sheltered in cantonments as their lives were at risk.

Former law minister Anisul Huq and the ex-premier’s private sector affairs adviser Salman F Rahman were the first to be arrested from Dhaka’s main river port Sadarghat terminal area as they were allegedly trying to leave Dhaka on a boat.

A number of members of Hasina’s cabinet, including former foreign minister Hassan Mahmud and former social welfare minister Dipu Moni, several lawmakers and leaders of Awami League and its allies, including pro-left Workers Party chairman Rashed Khan Menon, and a number of recently sacked military and civil officials have been arrested.

This included sacked major general Ziaul Hassan, who was serving as the head of the government’s telecommunications system, and Chittagong Port Authority chairman rear admiral Mohammad Sohail, who once was the spokesman of the elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion.

A TV journalist couple Farzana Rupa and her husband Shakil Ahmed have also been arrested.
 

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

Nadia:

An all-women unit of the Border Security Force (BSF) made a maiden gesture and handed over sweets and exchanged greetings with lady BGB personnel of Bangladesh at the front in West Bengal as part of the traditional Independence Day celebrations held along the international border.

The first-ever women border guards exchange took place near the Gede border post of the BSF in the said district even as a “high alert” continues all along this over 4,000 km front following the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government less than a week back.

The six-member BSF team, dressed in ceremonial regalia, belonged to the 32nd battalion of the force deployed in the area to guard the international boundary in Nadia district. The personnel are of the constable rank, officials told PTI.

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) women’s team that participated in the traditional ceremonial event held in the morning is affiliated to the 6th battalion of the Bangladeshi force deployed under the Darshana border post of the neighbouring country.

“The exchange of greetings and sharing of sweets symbolises mutual respect and camaraderie between the two border forces. It is a tradition which the women personnel have performed for the first time,” 32nd battalion BSF Commandant Sujeet Kumar said.

He said the two sides shook hands and wished for continued prosperity of their respective countries with a commitment to having strong bilateral ties between them.

A senior officer said the exchange of sweets and pleasantries between the two forces traditionally takes place during the national festivals of the two countries like Independence Day and Republic Day apart from big festivals like Deepawali and Eid.

This is, however, the first time an all-women team performed the gesture anywhere along this 4,096 km-long international boundary that runs across five states on India’s eastern flank including over 2,200 km in West Bengal.

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

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.)

Guwahati:

The Assam Police is on a high alert along the India-Bangladesh border to ensure that no person enters the state illegally in view of the unrest in the neighbouring country, a top officer said.

The Centre has issued a directive that no person be allowed to enter India from Bangladesh illegally, Director General of Police G P Singh said.

“The BSF is the first line of defence along the border and the Assam Police as the second line is also on a high alert,” Singh told reporters on the sidelines of a book launch here on Saturday.

”There is, however, a rider that Indian passport holders, mostly students and traders, will be allowed to enter if their documents are found valid after due verification,” the DGP said.

Another directive has been issued by the Centre that citizens of the neighbouring country will be escorted back to Bangladesh after due verification of their passports and visas through a safe corridor, he added.

”Besides these movements, there has been no entry of any person to the state… the Assam Police are conducting joint patrolling with the BSF,” he said.

Regarding measures taken for the ensuing Independence Day celebrations in Assam, the DGP said that adequate steps have been taken to ensure fool-proof security in the state.

“The SPs have been directed to beef up security in the parade grounds,” he said.

The top police officer recently visited several districts of Upper Assam to review security arrangements, following reports of the presence of a group of ULFA (I) militants along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.

”We reviewed the prevailing situation with the police, army, CRPF and Assam Rifles and discussed necessary steps to be taken to neutralise the group,” he said.

He urged the outfit not to indulge in violence and create disturbances when increased investments had led to economic prosperity in the state.

”If the ULFA(I) has anything to say, both the central and state governments are ready to hold talks with them,” the DGP added.

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