A case has been filed against 25 people over an alleged attack on Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) members during an anti-smuggling operation along the Haluaghat border in Mymensingh, in which one suspect was killed by gunfire.
Naik Rafiqul Islam, company commander of the Koraitoli Border Outpost (BOP) under BGB’s 39 Mymensingh Battalion, filed the case with Haluaghat Police Station around 12:30am on Tuesday.
The case was filed under the Special Powers Act, 1974, and several sections of the Penal Code.
The three named accused are Atikul Islam, 40, son of Tola Mia of Sangra village in Haluaghat; Roman, 35, son of Rafiqul Islam of Betkuri village; and Abdullah, 35, son of Akbar Ali of Panihata village in Nalitabari upazila of Sherpur. Another 20 to 25 unidentified people were also accused.
According to the first information report (FIR), Roman was killed after being hit by gunfire during the incident.
The FIR states that BGB members were conducting a routine patrol along the Haluaghat border at around 5:30am on Monday when they received information that four cows had been brought illegally from India into Bangladesh.
The cattle were found in Jhaljhalia, about 1,000 yards inside Bangladesh from border pillar 1119. BGB members went to the spot and seized the four cows with an estimated total value of Tk4 lakh.
According to the FIR, while the BGB personnel were returning with the cattle, people allegedly involved in smuggling blocked their way in Jhaljhalia and attacked them with locally made weapons, sharp ramda machetes and bamboo sticks.
The attackers allegedly took away two of the four cows, while the remaining two stayed in BGB custody.
The FIR further states that BGB members fired four warning shots into the air to disperse the attackers. The attackers allegedly launched another assault, and during the ensuing scuffle, a firearm discharged, killing Roman.
The FIR also alleges that the attackers struck BGB members on different parts of their bodies with sticks.
Journalist Ansarul Haque Rusel of Haluaghat told TIMES that the situation in the border area was now calm, although the incident had drawn widespread attention across Haluaghat.
He said a video of the incident had gone viral. According to him, the footage appeared to show that the alleged smugglers had attacked BGB members first and were responsible for the ensuing situation, changing local residents’ perceptions of the incident.
Citing local residents, Rusel said that although cattle smuggling took place along the border route, many people did not believe allegations of financial dealings between smugglers and BGB personnel. He added that some people had alleged that those who made such allegations were associates of the smugglers.
Haluaghat Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Jalal Uddin confirmed the filing of the case.
He said police handed Roman’s body over to his family after an autopsy at the morgue of Mymensingh Medical College Hospital on Monday.
Roman’s funeral prayer was held around 10pm, after which he was buried at his family graveyard in Betkuri village of Haluaghat upazila, the OC said.
He added that further legal proceedings in the case are ongoing.
