New Delhi: India has dismissed Bangladesh’s claim that three of its citizens were lynched by a mob in Tripura, clarifying that the men were smugglers who died after crossing the border and attacking villagers during an attempted cattle theft.
External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the incident occurred about three kilometres inside Indian territory at Bidyabil village on October 15. He stated that three Bangladeshi nationals armed with iron weapons crossed into India to steal cattle and attacked villagers, killing one local resident. In the ensuing clash, two smugglers were found dead on the spot, while a third succumbed to injuries the next day.
“The mortal remains of all three have been handed over to the Bangladesh side. Police have registered a case,” Jaiswal said. He further urged Dhaka to help maintain the sanctity of the international border and cooperate in completing border fencing to curb smuggling and illegal crossings.
The incident comes amid diplomatic tensions since Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus’s interim government took office in Bangladesh in August 2024. The two neighbours have exchanged sharp remarks over cross-border violence and “border killings.”
India has fenced over 3,000 kilometres of the 4,096-km-long boundary with Bangladesh but says Dhaka’s objections to fencing the remaining stretches enable criminal infiltration.
Earlier, Bangladesh’s foreign ministry condemned the deaths, alleging that the men were “brutally beaten and killed by a mob” and called the act “a grave violation of human rights.” It demanded an impartial and transparent probe.
However, Indian officials maintain that such incidents occur inside Indian territory only after smugglers or traffickers illegally cross the border. “If there are no illegal crossings, there will be no border killings,” said Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, stressing the need for Bangladesh to take preventive steps on its side.
