'If There Are No Illegal Crossings, There Will Be No Border Killings': India Rejects Dhaka’s Mob Lynching Claim

New Delhi: Rejecting Dhaka’s claim that three Bangladeshi men were lynched by a mob in Tripura, India on Friday clarified that the individuals were smugglers who had crossed the international border and died during an altercation while attempting to steal cattle. 

The clarification comes amid strained ties between the two nations since August 2024, when Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus took charge as Bangladesh’s interim leader. Both sides have since traded accusations over issues, including what Dhaka describes as “border killings.”

MEA Clarifies Incident Details 

Responding to media queries about the Tripura incident, Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), said the three Bangladeshi nationals were killed on October 15, around three kilometers inside Indian territory.

“A group of three miscreants from Bangladesh crossed the international border and attempted to steal cattle from Bidyabil village in Indian territory. They attacked and injured local villagers with iron dahs and knives, and killed one villager, even as other villagers arrived and resisted the attackers,” said Jaiswal.

According to Jaiswal, two of the smugglers were “found dead” when authorities reached the scene, while the third succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day.

“The mortal remains of all three have been handed over to the Bangladesh side. Police have also registered a case,” he added.

India Urges Bangladesh to Act on Cross-Border Crimes

Emphasizing the need to address the root cause of such incidents, Jaiswal said the episode highlights Bangladesh’s responsibility to maintain border integrity.

“This incident underscores the need for Bangladesh to undertake necessary measures to uphold the sanctity of the international boundary and support the construction of fencing where needed to prevent cross-border crimes and smuggling,” he stated.

India has fenced over 3,000 km of its 4,096-km border with Bangladesh, but says gaps remain because of Dhaka’s reluctance to fence certain stretches — a loophole exploited by smugglers and traffickers.  

Dhaka Protests, Terms Deaths ‘Grave Human Rights Violation’

Earlier, the Bangladesh foreign ministry condemned what it called the “brutal beating and killing of three Bangladeshi citizens by a mob in Tripura.”
In a strongly worded statement, Dhaka called the incident “an unacceptable and grave violation of human rights and the rule of law.”
It demanded a transparent and impartial investigation from New Delhi and urged that those responsible be held accountable.

India’s Firm Stand: Crimes Happen After Illegal Border Crossings

In response to Dhaka’s repeated protests over border deaths, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said such incidents occur only after criminals illegally enter Indian territory.

“These incidents take place in Indian territory only after criminals, smugglers, human traffickers, cattle traffickers, and arms traffickers have crossed the border illegally,” Misri told Bangladeshi journalists.

He added that the solution lies in preventing illegal crossings at the source, “The first place to deal with these is to deal with them upstream, in a sense to prevent illegal border crossings. If there are no illegal border crossings, there will be no border killings.”