BSF jawan killed in firing by Bangla border guards; BGB says action in 'self defence'

In a first of its kind incident, Bangladeshi border guards opened fire at a Border Security Force (BSF) team on Thursday killing a jawan after a 'flag meeting' along the Indo-Bangla riverine frontier in West Bengal, officials said.

A second jawan was injured in the firing incident, they said.

However, in a statement issued late night in Dhaka, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) said they fired the gunshots in "self defence".

The action against the Indian personnel in what was called by officials in New Delhi as "high handedness" by the BGB sparked tension prompting the BSF chief, V K Johri, to call up his counterpart Major General Shafeenul Islam over hotline.

The BGB Director General assured Johri a thorough probe into the incident, officials said.

The jawan killed in the shooting was identified as head constable Vijay Bhan Singh and he hailed from Chamaroli village in Firozabad district of Uttar Pradesh. The 51-year-old trooper, who is survived by his wife and 2 young sons, had ...