Four Bangladeshis killed on border

By Subir Bhaumik in Shillong, Meghalaya

Indian security forces have killed four Bangladeshi nationals who they say were trying to enter India illegally.

Officials from the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) said the alleged intruders were killed at three different places in the north-eastern states of Assam and Meghalaya, which border Bangladesh.

The incidents took place in areas where Indian and Bangladeshi border guards fought pitched battles two months ago, leaving 18 people dead.

The Inspector General of the BSF in Meghalaya, V K Gaur, told the BBC that a group of Bangladeshi nationals tried to cross over into India at Mankachar in the north-eastern state of Assam on Wednesday.

He said his men challenged and then fired at the intruders, killing two of them on the spot.

One other intruder was injured.

Meghalaya intrusion

Mr Gaur said BSF soldiers also fired at another group of Bangladeshis trying to enter India at Gasuapara in the neighbouring state of Meghalaya.

One Bangladeshi was injured in this incident.

Earlier on Tuesday, two Bangladeshis were killed when Indian border guards fired at them at Mahendraganj in Meghalaya.

Talks

BSF officers said they met their Bangladeshi counterparts after the incident and tried to hand over the bodies, but the Bangladesh border personnel refused to accept them.

They said another meeting had been arranged at Mankachar on Thursday.

Last month, Indian and Bangladeshi officials held talks in Delhi in an attempt to resolve differences on the border issue.

A small stretch of border still has to be demarcated, and there are also more than 150 enclaves - small pockets of territory each has inside the other's country.