New Delhi, India (BBN)-Delhi and Dhaka have agreed to bring border killings to an end and stressed greater awareness among citizens to avert such incidents in the future.
This was decided at the home secretary-level meeting between India and Bangladesh, when the issue of killing along the border came up prominently, reports The Hindu.
After the meeting with his Indian counterpart Rajiv Mehrishi , Bangladesh Home Secretary Mozammel Haque Khan said: “We have agreed that the citizens of both countries should be taught not to create tension on the border, not to cross the border [illegally], and to follow international laws.”
The news of Bangladeshis being killed by Indian Border Security Force(BSF) was frequent in the local media.
Official data shows at least 28 people, mostly illegal cattle traders, have been gunned down in the past seven months along the border.
According to Khan, eight Indian citizens were also killed while trying to smuggle in drugs during the past year.
India on earlier occasions announced plans to provide the BSF posted along the Bangladesh border with ‘non-lethal weapons’; but that has not happened yet.
At the two-day meeting that ended on Tuesday, India assured Bangladesh of sharing intelligence on militancy.
The meeting, 17th after Bangladesh’s independence, also discussed the drug smuggling issue.
“Indian authorities have assured us of whole hearted cooperation in this regard,” said the Bangladesh home secretary.
On the first day of the meeting on Monday, India had raised the issues of the influx of fake Indian currency, cattle smuggling, and illegal infiltration, and sought Dhaka’s cooperation to completely stop these, while Bangladesh strongly spoke against the border killings.
Sources said the Indians assured Bangladesh of handing over the top Bangladeshi criminals hiding in India following examination of legal matters.
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