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BSF sources told bdnews24.com that the four who were suspended belonged
to the 40th Battalion of the BSF deployed at Andrail border outpost
opposite Bangladesh's Putkhali border outpost manned by BGB.
They are Head Constable Y.N. Bhatt, Assistant Sub Inspector Narayan Singha, Constables Prasenjit Das and Mohammed Ayub Ali.
However, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in a media statement on Friday said the BSF headquarters had informed them of suspending three accused troopers after primary investigation. The media release did not name the suspended BSF officials.
BSF sources said a high level court of inquiry has been ordered into the shootout in which two Bangladesh nationals were killed at a spot about 800 yards from the Andrail border outpost.
"A senior commandant will conduct the enquiry," they said
They are Head Constable Y.N. Bhatt, Assistant Sub Inspector Narayan Singha, Constables Prasenjit Das and Mohammed Ayub Ali.
However, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in a media statement on Friday said the BSF headquarters had informed them of suspending three accused troopers after primary investigation. The media release did not name the suspended BSF officials.
BSF sources said a high level court of inquiry has been ordered into the shootout in which two Bangladesh nationals were killed at a spot about 800 yards from the Andrail border outpost.
"A senior commandant will conduct the enquiry," they said
The BSF sources said that the BSF headquarters in Delhi has asked the
BSF South Bengal area to take "very strict action" if the BSF troops who
opened fire were found to have done it without "much provocation".
"Our director general has taken a very serious view of the matter," they said.
After a preliminary enquiry, the soldiers who were put under suspension had told the senior officials that they had opened fire when they were attacked by a group of 150 smugglers involved in taking away cattle from the Indian side.
"One of our soldier was about to be lynched by them, so we were forced to open fire," Head Constable Bhatt had told the enquiry.
He said the BSF troops first fired from pump-action guns that had now been issued to them to avoid casualties.
These guns fire pellets and not bullets and they are not designed to shoot to kill.
"But when we fired pellets, the smugglers said these are nakli (fake) guns and they attacked us, so we had to use rifles," Bhatt told the enquiry.
BGB identified those killed in the BSF firing as Habibur Rahman, 30, from Benapole’s Shibnathpur village and Faruk Hossain, 25, of Basatpur Colony.
According to the BGB, it had held a flag meeting with its Indian counterpart on the night of the shootout and condemned the killings. The BSF had assured them that such incidents would not be repeated, it said.
The BSF had come under fire from various national and international rights groups for its atrocities. The border force had been accused of tortures and killings along the Bangladeshi border. Faced with criticisms, New Delhi had promised to provide it with 'non-lethal' killings.
Deaths along the border continued to rise, despite India's repeated pledges to bring border killings down to zero.
Cattle smuggling is believed to be a TK 10 billion annual contraband trade between India and Bangladesh -- so the stakes are high and those involved are often armed and willing to take on borderguards.
Former BSF chief UK Bansal had advocated legalising cattle trade in a bid to bring down the number of deaths along its porous border with Bangladesh.
A West Bengal-based human rights group moved India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the second time in a month, asking it to rein in the BSF, which it says is making life difficult for people on the India-Bangladesh border.
In its latest petition to the NHRC, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) alleged that the BSF continues a campaign of torture and terror, often falsely implicating villagers on charges of smuggling.
"Our director general has taken a very serious view of the matter," they said.
After a preliminary enquiry, the soldiers who were put under suspension had told the senior officials that they had opened fire when they were attacked by a group of 150 smugglers involved in taking away cattle from the Indian side.
"One of our soldier was about to be lynched by them, so we were forced to open fire," Head Constable Bhatt had told the enquiry.
He said the BSF troops first fired from pump-action guns that had now been issued to them to avoid casualties.
These guns fire pellets and not bullets and they are not designed to shoot to kill.
"But when we fired pellets, the smugglers said these are nakli (fake) guns and they attacked us, so we had to use rifles," Bhatt told the enquiry.
BGB identified those killed in the BSF firing as Habibur Rahman, 30, from Benapole’s Shibnathpur village and Faruk Hossain, 25, of Basatpur Colony.
According to the BGB, it had held a flag meeting with its Indian counterpart on the night of the shootout and condemned the killings. The BSF had assured them that such incidents would not be repeated, it said.
The BSF had come under fire from various national and international rights groups for its atrocities. The border force had been accused of tortures and killings along the Bangladeshi border. Faced with criticisms, New Delhi had promised to provide it with 'non-lethal' killings.
Deaths along the border continued to rise, despite India's repeated pledges to bring border killings down to zero.
Cattle smuggling is believed to be a TK 10 billion annual contraband trade between India and Bangladesh -- so the stakes are high and those involved are often armed and willing to take on borderguards.
Former BSF chief UK Bansal had advocated legalising cattle trade in a bid to bring down the number of deaths along its porous border with Bangladesh.
A West Bengal-based human rights group moved India's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) for the second time in a month, asking it to rein in the BSF, which it says is making life difficult for people on the India-Bangladesh border.
In its latest petition to the NHRC, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) alleged that the BSF continues a campaign of torture and terror, often falsely implicating villagers on charges of smuggling.
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