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India protests BDR firing |
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India has lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over the unprovoked firing including mortar shelling by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) that led to the death of two women in Zakiganj district of Assam. This comes even as Dhaka itself protested against BJP President Rajnath Singh’s comments on terror camps in Bangladesh. India has said that the BDR is continuing unprovoked firing in spite of senior BSF and BDR officials deciding to resolve issues through a flag meeting. The BDR had opened fire at Surma on August 9 and 10. Bangladesh High Commissioner Liaquat Ali Choudhury was summoned by the Ministry of External Affairs Joint Secretary, Mohan Kumar and a “note verbale” was handed over to him. A similar note was also handed over to the Bangladesh Foreign Office by the Indian High Commission in Dhaka. MEA spokesperson Navtej Sarna said that the High Commissioner gave an assurance that he would convey the matter to the Bangladesh Foreign Office. The issue of unprovoked firing and infiltration across the border is likely to be discussed at length during the Home Secretary level talks that are slated to be held at the end of the month. The firing took place on August 10 in the Zakiganj sector, the provocation being that 220 acres of land on the western bank of the Surma river in Harinagar in Kinakha was encroached on. The MEA spokesperson said that land records clearly show that it is a part of Indian territory, and that there were well-demarcated boundary pillars. Bangladesh has claimed that the area is under adverse possession. Sarna further said the Bangladesh Rifles had committed that they would stop Bangladeshi settlers from illegal cultivation. The matter was discussed at Silchar between the BSF and BDR. However, the 38 Rifles Battalion of the BDR opened unprovoked heavy fire on the BSF with automatic weapons like universal machineguns and heavy machineguns and also resorted to large-scale indiscriminate mortar firing in the Zakiganj sector that led to the death of two women.
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