Shillong, April 22
Two injured BSF jawans and the decomposed body of another were handed over to the BSF by Bangladesh Rifles at Mahendragunj in Meghalaya this evening, Mr R.C. Silkoti, Commandant BSF Headquarters, said here.

“The condition of injured constables Akshay Kumar and Bimal Kumar, who have been admitted to the Battalion hospital at Tura, is stated to be critical”, he told PTI over phone.

The body and the injured BSF personnel were received by the Commandant of the 118 BSF Battalion, he said. The cremation would take place tomorrow. He said a commandant-level meeting of the BSF was held at Tura to draw up a strategy to thwart any further intrusion by BDR.

Asked how the jawans were killed by the Bangaldeshi villagers, he said, “They killed our jawans earlier also in the same way.’’ There have been several instances when Bangladeshi smugglers were arrested on the border and the nearby villagers gheraoed the BSF and beat them to death.

“Perhaps, this time also the same thing happened in a pre-planned manner,’’ he said.

Regarding the allegation in a section of the press that the BSF wireless did not function well during the intrusion, he said it was functioning perfectly and they were getting minute-to-minute information from the border.

Meanwhile, a Guwahati report quoting a BSF official from Tura said the body was handed over after 3.30 pm and further details about the handover were awaited.

“We have received information that the body and the injured jawans have been handed over but details will be available only when the officers, including the Commandant of the 118 Battalion S. C. Zutshi returns with them,’’ he said.

The slain BSF jawan has been identified as Hav Dhyan Chand.

DHAKA: Dhaka has opposed New Delhi’s plan to completely fence off the Indian border with Bangladesh to stop recurrence of last week’s border clashes. “We are opposed to it. There can’t be any construction of fence within 30 yards of no man’s land,’’ Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Syed Moazzem Ali told newspersons at the Foreign Office this afternoon.

He pointed out that there was no provision for any such constructions in the 1974 Indira-Mujib Agreement and 1975 Bangladesh-India understanding.

The official said all border issues, including access to enclaves, demarcation of land, settlement of adverse possessions, river and maritime boundaries, should be settled quickly in the interest of the two countries.

A PTI correspondent who visited this village, more than 100 km from Shillong, found graffiti in Bengali all over the walls of the local St John Baptist Church and Presbyterian School which read: “Thanks to BDR for our struggle for independence, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman’s dream Bengal”. The address of the painter is “Picnic Variety Store, Patherquerry, Bangladesh C/O F. Ahmed”.

The mud walls of some of the houses also sport the symbol of the Bangladesh National Party.

Inhabitants themselves kept away from the village despite the BSF having regained its border observatory post (BOP).

Village headman P. Nongrum said the inhabitants were afraid to return fearing further intrusion by the BDR though a company of the BSF jawans was present.

Moreover, almost all houses, particularly the Assam type thatched ones were completely destroyed by the BDR, he said.

He alleged that no steps were taken by the BSF though the villagers had informed it on Sunday last of the BDR’s intrusion and digging of trenches. All 1,200 inhabitants fled to nearby villages and jungles that night itself when the BDR fired in the air and asked them to leave the village.

The villagers said they saw from the top of the hill how the BDR encircled the BOP and there was an exchange of fire for several hours.

Min Bareh, the oldest resident of the village, said he had to leave his home for safety this time even though he stayed put even during the Indo-Pak war in 1971.

East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner L. Roy, who visited the village to assess the damage, said the government was providing the villagers with food and temporary shelter.