The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a statement on Friday clarifying the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three Bangladeshi nationals in Tripura, rejecting claims of mob lynching and describing the individuals as smugglers who illegally crossed the border and initiated violence against local villagers.
In response to media queries, MEA Official Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the incident occurred on October 15, about 3 kilometers inside Indian territory in Bidyabil village, Khowai district. Narrating the incident, he stated, “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. Authorities rushed to the spot, where two smugglers were found dead; a third succumbed to his injuries in hospital the following day.”
The incident took place in a border village called Bidyabil, in the Khowai district of Tripura, when the three Bangladeshis first attacked Indian villagers, after which they were killed by an angry mob. Two villagers had gone out to work at a rubber plantation near the India-Bangladesh border when they noticed three Bangladeshi men hiding there. When confronted, the Bangladeshis attacked the two villagers with sharp weapons, leaving them injured.
When the two victims returned to the village and informed others about the attack, a large number of villagers rushed to the border area and the three Bangladeshis, suspected to be cattle thieves. A clash took place between the two sides, leading to the death of all two Bangladeshis and injury to the remaining one. Two Indians were also injured in the clash.
Police reached the sport getting information of the incident, sent the injured to the Hospital and sent the bodies for postmortem. However, during the treatment, the injured Bangladeshi, and one of the Indians attacked earlier, succumbed to the injuries.
Later the mortal remains of all three Bangladeshis, identified as Jual Miah, Sajal Miah, and Pandit Miah from Habiganj district in Bangladesh, were handed over to Bangladeshi authorities. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), India’s Border Security Force (BSF), and police officials from both countries were present during the handover. Indian police have registered a case in connection with the incident.
The clarification comes amid strong protests from Bangladesh, which condemned the deaths as a “brutal beating and killing” by a mob and demanded an impartial investigation from India. Dhaka described the act as “heinous and reprehensible,” urging New Delhi to ensure justice and prevent future occurrences. Bangladeshi media reports portrayed the event as a lynching of suspected cattle thieves, sparking diplomatic tensions.
In its statement, the MEA emphasized the need for Bangladesh to take measures to uphold border sanctity and support the construction of fencing to curb smuggling and related crimes. ” 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,” Jaiswal added.
