The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Thursday afternoon handed over two Indian youths who were involved in a firing at a village in Cooch Behar and had fled to the neighbouring country.

Rahamatullah and Suman Haque are residents of Jaridharala, a village located on the India-Bangladesh border and under Gitaldaha 2 panchayat. Jaridharalaunder is under the jurisdiction of Dinhata police station.

On June 28, when a group of Trinamul Congress supporters were returning from a campaign programme, a gang of criminals fired at them. One person died and seven others suffered injuries. During the investigation, the police came to know that the assailants had fled to Bangladesh as there was an unfenced stretch on the border in the area.

According to sources, the criminals took shelter in a hideout at Kauar Char, a locality in the Durgapur Union area of Lalmonirhat district of Bangladesh.

After the incident, the BSF held a flag meeting with the BGB in the presence of the district police where BGB was briefed on the assailants.

This made the BGB act and on Wednesday night, the Bangladesh border force detained the duo while they were roaming around at a market in Durgapur. During interrogation, they revealed their identity. On Thursday afternoon, the BGB handed them over to the BSF. The BSF in turn handed them to Dinhata police station.

“It is a major development. Both of them will be interrogated to gather more information about the crime,” said a police officer.

Bangladeshis arrested

The BSF intercepted three Bangladeshi residents — all members of a family — for trying to infiltrate India through an unfenced area in Cooch Behar on Thursday late evening.

Sources said Jadab Chandra Sarkar, a resident of the Cumilla district of Bangladesh, along with his wife and daughter, was trying to cross the border illegally through the Dahagram-Angrapota enclave area when troops of the sixth battalion of the BSF posted in Dhaprahat border outpost nabbed them.

During interrogation, it was found that they were trying to enter the country to earn a livelihood and had plans to go to Krishnanagar via Siliguri.

Sikkim govt bus rams into SUV, 12 hurt

Siliguri: At least 12 persons were injured when a Sikkim Nationalised Transport(SNT) bus collided with an SUV in Kalimpong district on Friday.

Sources said the bus that was bound for Siliguri had rammed into the SUV, which is also from Sikkim, at Bhalukhola on NH10 around 10am.

Bhalukhola is around 60km from Siliguri.

Kalimpong police reached the spot. The injured — 10 passengers and the driver and the conductor — were sent to the state-run hospital in Rangpo, the Sikkim town located at the interstate border.

The Sikkim transport department engaged another bus which reached the spot to take the remaining passengers to Siliguri.

The police have seized both the vehicles.

OUR CORRESPONDENT