Vajpayee takes serious view; India protests killing of BSF personnel

NEW DELHI, April 21: India today lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh over the "inhuman treatment" of BSF personnel killed in Boraibari and demanded immediate return of two injured soldiers in Bangladeshi custody, reports PTI. As a shocked nation woke up to a photograph of the body of a BSF jawan being carried like an animal and watched gruesome pictures of the mutilated bodies of the soldiers on TV channels, Foreign Secretary Chokila Iyer summoned Bangladesh High Commissioner Mostafa Farooque Mohammed to the Foreign Office and conveyed New Delhi's concern over the brutality inflicted on the BSF men. Iyer "lodged a very strong protest at the inhuman treatment of our BSF personnel whose bodies were returned yesterday after considerable delay", an External Affairs Ministry spokesman told reporters. Another protest was lodged over the destruction of the properties of Indian villagers in Pyrdiwah village in Meghalaya by BDR men even after the two Governments had agreed through diplomatic channels to restore status quo ante. But there was no immediate word of any contact at the political level. Earlier, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee took a "serious view" of the mutilation of bodies of 15 BSF soldiers killed in border skirmishes. Vajpayee spoke this morning to Home Minister LK Advani who is away in Ahmedabad and also to BSF Director General Gurbachan Jagat in Shillong, a PMO spokesman said. The Prime Minister asked Jagat to rush back to Delhi with all the facts about the border clashes and report to him. Iyer emphasised to the Bangladeshi envoy that such unfortunate incidents were not in keeping with friendly relations between the two countries and their recurrence must be prevented. The Foreign Secretary also conveyed New Delhi's serious concern over phone to her Bangladeshi counterpart. In Dhaka, India's High Commissioner Munilal Tripathi this morning met the Bangladesh Foreign Minister Abdus Samad Azad and was assured that all aspects of these incidents would be investigated, the spokesman said. Reports from the border spoke of some of the BSF personnel having been lynched by a Bangladeshi mob while some others were shot and killed by BDR personnel. Asked whether Dhaka had assured that it would inform India of the progress in the investigations, he said "I trust they will get back to us". Meanwhile, terming as "inhuman" killing of 15 BSF personnel by Bangladesh Rifles, External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh today denied suggestion that India was casual in responding to it. Singh told reporters at the Patna airport here that India had strongly reacted to the Bangladeshi troops "misadventure" in Boraibari border village in Assam and conveyed its concern to Bangladesh. Inquiries are already being conducted by the Union Home Ministry and BSF into the incident, he said. Singh said status quo ante had been restored along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya and Assam. Status quo ante has returned along the border ..... "situation is normal", Singh said. Refuting allegations of India had taken the incident casually, he said India had strongly reacted to Bangladeshi troops "misadventure" in Boraibari border village in Assam. In reply to a question, he said a six-km stretch of border in Meghalaya remained to be demarcated and fencing alongside was required as permanent solution to prevent such incidents. He denied that India's relations with its neighbours had deteriorated in the wake of the incident. Last rites : Meanwhile, the last rites were performed today for the 15 BSF personnel, tortured and killed by the Bangladesh Rifles on the Assam-Bangladesh border, with gun salute. The bodies of the two Muslim personnel were interred first, while those of 13 Hindu men were cremated in the presence of 118 BSF battalion commandant SK Jutsi and other senior officers, at the 118 BSF grounds in Tura, Meghalaya, a BSF officer told PTI here from Tura. As the bodies were in bad shape they were not handed over to family members. The family members were informed of the deaths by telegram and telephone, the officer said.