Locals chase BSF back after river attack in Lalmonirhat

The BSF troops hurled a sound grenade and fled into Indian territory when locals armed with sticks resisted the intrusion.

Local sources confirmed that the incident took place near main pillar 837/4S at the Bamondal border in Burimari union under Patgram upazila on Saturday evening.

According to Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and local sources, the area borders Bamondal in Burimari union on the Bangladesh side and BS Bari under Changrabandha in Mekhliganj, Cooch Behar district of West Bengal on the Indian side. On Saturday afternoon, several workers were manually extracting sand and stones from the Saniyajan River on the Bangladesh side of the border.

During the extraction, 10 to 12 members of the 98 BSF Battalion's BS Bari camp entered the river, obstructed the workers, and attempted to assault them. Hearing the workers' cries for help, 15 to 20 local residents rushed to the spot carrying sticks.

When locals confronted the border guards, a chase and counter-chase ensued. BSF members then detonated a sound grenade before crossing the river back into India.

Upon receiving the information, BGB members from the Burimari company headquarters reached the spot. Later in the evening, a brief flag meeting took place between BGB and BSF at the border. BGB lodged a strong protest with BSF over the border crossing and sound grenade explosion. However, BSF members denied the allegations of trespassing and hurling the grenade.

Rangpur 61 BGB Battalion Assistant Director Karimul Islam confirmed the incident, stating that BSF obstructed the workers during stone extraction. He added that a chase and counter-chase occurred along with stone-pelting, during which BSF fired a sound grenade to cause panic.

No casualties were reported, and BGB has sent an official letter of protest to BSF.