Bangladesh releases six Indians after 78 days

AGARTALA - The Bangladesh government has released six Indians who had accidentally crossed the border along southern Tripura while grazing their cattle 78 days ago on June 21, officials here said Tuesday.

“The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) handed over the six Indians, including two women, to the Border Security Force (BSF) at the Muhurighat checkpost in southern Tripura late Monday,” a police spokesperson said.

“BSF officials held several flag meetings with their BDR counterparts for the release of the Indians while New Delhi had requested Dhaka to release the innocent Tripura villagers.”

The Indians, all tribals, had been detained by a group of Bangladeshi civilians June 21 when their cattle went across the border at Sabroom town, 135 km from here. They were handed over to BDR personnel and then to police before they were lodged in Khagrachari jail and then the Feni jail in southeastern Bangladesh.

“The Bangladeshi civilians had beaten us severely before handing us over to the BDR. Three of us had to be admitted to a Bangladeshi hospital because of the torture,” said 55-year-old Debakrishna Tripura, who was one of the six Indians freed by Bangladesh.

“However, the Bangladeshi police and BDR have behaved well with us,” Debakrishna told Tripura police at the checkpost.

Tripura shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh, part of which is porous, riverine and unfenced and is prone to frequent infiltration and occasional skirmishes.