Deploy more forces: CM; Mankachar limping back to normalcy

MANKACHAR, April 22: The situation in the Mankachar subdivision of Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh is limping back to normalcy as the villagers, who fled to safer places in the face of heavy exchange of fire between the Border Security Force (BSF) and Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), have started returning to their deserted villages. Meanwhile, after visiting the affected area, Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta today demanded that security measures along the border should be strengthened by deploying more forces. As many as 16 BSF men were brutally killed by BDR men and local villagers, while more than 30 others including five BSF men were injured in the border skirmish, which lasted for three days. Though the exact number of casualties on the other side is yet to be ascertained, the Deputy Inspector General of the BSF, IJ Singh, during his meeting with the Chief Minister and other senior officers of the state government here today, revealed that according to a report of the RAW, as many as 21 BDR men and about 50 civilians were killed in the three-day-long gunbattle. However, at the same time, he said that according to reports available with the BSF, at least seven to eight BDR men were killed and 10 others were injured. Singh said that 15 bodies of the BSF men were returned on Friday evening while the body of havildar Dhyan Chand was returned yesterday. He said that during the flag meeting with the BDR Sector Commander Colonel A Rahim, he had lodged a strong protest over the condition of the bodies. The body of assistant commandant D Mondal was quite fresh when it was handed over to the BSF on Friday and it is almost sure that he was killed on that very day. The BSF DIG said that the BSF men were put on the alert after the incident at Dawki. He said that on Wednesday last, a 20-member group of the BSF went out for a regular patrolling along the Zero line located beyond the fencing. He admitted that as the border pillars were very small, the patrol might have strayed into the Bangla territory. According to the two BSF men, who managed to come back, Mondal started talking to a group of villagers and suddenly, more than a thousand Bangla villagers, backed by the BDR men, pounced on them and as many a 16 men were brutally murdered. In utter violation of the internationally accepted norms Bangladesh moved in Army to the border posts, and after a heavy gun-battle, in which the Bangla Army even used three-inch mortars, the BSF managed to capture the Baraibari area, he said. The BSF DIG said that the brutal killing of 16 of their colleagues has not affected the morale of the BSF men posted along the Indo-Bangla border and now they are ready to fight with more vigour. When asked whether the BDR might try to repeat such unprovoked attacks in future, he said, "They would not dare to do so." Plea for strengthening border security: The Chief Minister, Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, after visiting the affected area, demanded that the Union government must deploy more forces along the border immediately to not only prevent recurrence of such incidents in future but also to check infiltration of foreigners. Talking to The Assam Tribune, Mahanta said that the state government will soon strongly take up the matter with the Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister. "As the BDR backed by the Bangladesh Army launched an unprovoked attack, we must remain vigilant," he added. When asked whether an intelligence failure on the part of the BSF resulted in the unfortunate incident, Mahanta said that the Union Home Ministry should enquire into the matter. He said that the distance between the border outposts of the BSF is now between eight to 10 kilometres and it should be reduced to four to five kilometres to effectively seal the border. He also demanded that a battalion of the BSF should be posted in the Mankachar sector and revealed that the district administration of Dhubri has already identified 1,000 bighas of land for the setting up of the battalion headquarters. Disputed area: More than 190 acres of land along the Assam-Bangladesh border at Baraibari remains a disputed area. Interestingly, the area is under the administrative control of Bangladesh, but the people of the area pay their taxes in India. Now the villages across the border in the Baraibari area wear a deserted look as the villagers who deserted the villages, are yet to return. Interestingly, according to information available, some villagers moved out even before the gunbattle broke out, and apparently they were aware of the gameplan of the BDR. According to the villagers of the locality, more than 30,000 people of five bordering villages had to escape in the face of heavy gunbattle along the border. The worst affected villages were Kakripara and Thakrunbari as a large number of bullets fell on the villages. They have started to return since yesterday as the gun fell silent from Friday evening. However, tension prevails in the area as the people of the locality are still apprehensive that the BDR may again resort to such actions in future.