BD man beaten by Indian along Lalmonirhat border

A Bangladeshi man was assaulted by several Indian nationals on Saturday morning in the Dulali area of the Lohakuchi border, under the Goral Union of Kaliganj Upazila, Lalmonirhat district, following a dispute over fishing rights.

The victim, Madab Chandra, 40, was left severely injured and unconscious after the attack. He was immediately rushed to a local hospital for treatment.

According to locals, Madab, a resident of Lohakuchi and son of the late Madan Mohan, had set up a traditional bamboo fishing trap known as a tepai in the Malda River at the border. Residents claimed that Indian nationals had frequently stolen fish from his trap, leading to repeated confrontations.

On Saturday morning, when Madab confronted the individuals he believed were stealing from his trap, a group of Indian nationals assaulted him. The violent altercation left him unconscious.

An Indian national, who witnessed the incident, alerted Madab’s family and nearby residents. They managed to rescue him from the scene and rushed him to the hospital for medical care.

As tensions grew between the two sides, the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) intervened to defuse the situation. Lt. Col. Mehdi, the commanding officer of the 15th BGB Battalion, arrived at the site and successfully mediated between the locals to restore calm.

In response to the incident, the BGB formally protested the attack during a flag meeting with India's Border Security Force (BSF). Lt. Col. Mehdi emphasized that the dispute stemmed from fishing rights in the Malda River and expressed the need for both sides to address the issue to prevent further escalation.

The situation remains tense, and both countries' border forces have been urged to increase coordination to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.