2 Indians hurt in alleged BSF firing 

RANGPUR, Oct 5: Two Indian nationals from Assam were rescued in an injured condition near the Kurigram border and admitted to Rangpur Medical College Hospital (RpMCH) late Sunday night following alleged firing by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).

The injured were identified as Ismail Hossain, 35, and Khaja Abdul Alim, 39, residents of Barabalu under Sukhchar police station in South Salmara-Mankachar district of Assam.

Local fishermen and boatmen spotted the two men lying injured in a river near the border around 3pm on Sunday. They rescued them and took them to a local clinic before police shifted them to RpMCH for better treatment.

Hospital sources said both men sustained bullet wounds and were in critical condition. They are now receiving treatment at paying beds in Ward 15 of the surgery department under police protection.

The injured men told authorities that they were bathing cattle in a river near the border when BSF personnel detained and assaulted them, allegedly suspecting them of being Bangladeshi nationals. They claimed the BSF opened fire despite their insistence that they were Indian citizens and later left them near the border.

They said they crossed into Bangladesh through the Jatrapur border area to save their lives and were subsequently rescued by local fishermen.

They urged the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to facilitate their return to India through a flag meeting with the BSF.