3 Bangladeshis lynched in Tripura

Staff Reporter :

Three Bangladeshi nationals have reportedly been beaten to death in the Indian state of Tripura. The victims were all residents of Chunarughat upazila in Habiganj. Their bodies are currently being kept at the Samphahar Police Station in Khowai district, India.

The deceased have been identified as Jewel Mia (32), son of Asbab Ali of Alinagar village; Poti Mia (45), son of Kona Mia of Basulla village; and Sajal Mia (20), son of Kaddus Mia of Kabilashpur village – all from Chunarughat upazila.

Tarekur Rahman, a member of Gazipur Union Parishad under Chunarughat upazila, said that Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) collected the victims’ national identity cards at night and sent them to the Indian authorities. Later, the bodies sent from India were identified as Jewel, Poti, and Sajal based on the photographs.

The BGB said they were in communication with the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to learn more details about the incident.

Lieutenant Colonel Md. Tanzilur Rahman, commanding officer of the 55 BGB Battalion (Habiganj Battalion), said that according to intelligence reports, the three Bangladeshis had entered India two to three days earlier through the border area of Vidyabil in Srimangal upazila of Moulvibazar district. They had been staying about four to five kilometers inside Indian territory, in the Karengichhara area of Tripura.

He further stated that preliminary investigations suggest the three might have crossed into India for cattle smuggling. Local residents, suspecting them to be cattle thieves, formed a mob and attacked them, resulting in their deaths on the spot.