In the second such incident this year, irate villagers of Biswamani Akhra in west Tripura lynched three Bangladeshi cattle lifters before dawn on Tuesday. A villager was injured when criminals opened fire from a country-made weapon while trying to flee across the border.
Police said the incident occurred when a group of Bangladeshis entered the tribal village in Champahawar police station area of Khowai district, after destroying a portion of the wire fence. The intruders planned to lift cattle from households, which had become a common occurrence in border localities in Tripura.
“Some alert villagers raised alarm and a huge crowd chased the Bangladeshis who took shelter in forests. But they managed to catch three intruders, while the rest fled across the border,” a police officer of Champahawar police station told The Hindu .
He said two Bangladeshis died on the spot while another was critically inured. He was declared brought dead by doctors when police shifted him to hospital.
A 60-year-old villager, Bhanu Debbarma, was injured when the fleeing criminals opened fire from a country-made weapon. He is now admitted to the GBP Hospital in Agartala.
Border Security Force contingents and armed police rushed to the spot after hearing about the incident. Local villagers alleged that BSF was not manning the border when the intrusion occurred.
Reports said the BSF strength was augmented after Bangladeshis started crowding on their side. The BSF has communicated to its counterpart, the Border Guards-Bangladesh (BGB), about the lynching and placed a request for a flag meeting.
On April 6 this year, three Bangladeshi cattle lifters were lynched at Gournagar in Khowai. The BGB had then refused to accept the bodies.
