At diplomatic level, India yesterday lodged a strong protest with Bangladesh against the "killing" of a senior Border Security Force (BSF) officer by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and said "repercussions" of the incident cannot be ignored.

Indian external affairs ministry summoned Bangladesh's Acting High Commissioner Masud bin Momen and conveyed India's "deep disappointment and regret" over the "killing" of BSF Assistant Commandant Jeewan Kumar on Saturday, our New Delhi correspondent reports.

Later, in the afternoon, State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babar talked over telephone with his Indian counterpart in an effort to defuse tensions along the border and maintain friendly relations between the two neighbours, reports UNB.

WILTED TRADE
Some 1,500 lorries laden with goods including perishable ones remain stranded at Petrapole in West Bengal as Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has barred them from entering Bangladesh through Benapole Land Port since Monday. However export to India continues as usual.

Export and import through Akhaura Land Port also remain snapped since the border violence.

Sources say there will be no trade through the port for the next three days as Export Import Traders Association and clearing and forwarding agents have announced a three-day programme to mourn Nahida, a 10-year-old girl killed in Saturday's shootout.

Situation at Benapole border has been volatile since BSF issued shoot-at-sight order at zero point on Monday. BSF also put its troops on red alert cutting off export from India without any provocation, our staff correspondent in Khulna reports.

Sources say BDR jawans have also been kept on alert in response to the BSF move.

Witnesses say BSF members yesterday were patrolling with heavy arms along the border at Petrapole opposite to Benapole. Panic has gripped the people in the bordering villages in Benapole area apprehending possible encounters between BDR and BSF.

Our Jessore correspondent writes: Export of some goods including jute and jute-made ones to India remains normal.

Sources say, in line with a new order made effective from Monday, BSF barred helpers of Indian trucks from entering Benapole but allowed drivers to drive their trucks into Bangladesh. This angered the drivers and they refused to drive on without their helpers.

The BSF also withdrew its permission to C&F agents to move in and out of Indian territory.

A BDR source terms the prevailing tension between BSF and BDR unprecedented.

Our Brahmanbaria correspondent reports: The uneasy situation in the bordering areas of Akhaura has started to relax gradually.

About 90 percent of the villagers who fled home following the encounter between BDR and BSF about 400 yards inside Bangladesh last Saturday leaving a Bangladeshi child and a BSF officer killed have returned to their houses.

According to BDR sources, the Bangladeshi border guards are kept on high alert along the 5-km border at Akhaura.

People have started travelling through Akhaura Land Port but export-import is yet to begin, says BDR 7 battalion commander Lt Col Sayed Quamruzzaman.

If trade through Akhaura Land Port remains snapped until next Friday, Bangladesh would loss about Tk 60 lakh in foreign currency, reckons a customs official at the port.

Earlier on Monday, BDR jawans recovered a rifle, 18 bullets and a radio set left behind by the intruding BSF men. In a flag meeting the same evening BDR handed those over to BSF.

Our Satkhira correspondent reports: A tense situation is prevailing at Sultanpur- Chanduria border in Kalaroa upazila as BSF has continued threatening with dire consequences to the people of bordering villages after a Bangladeshi allegedly stolen in a cow from India on April 16.

People of the area were virtually besieged by BSF troops over the incident. Apprehending sudden BSF attack farmers dare not go to their croplands near the border, villagers say.

INDIA PROTESTS
Our New Delhi correspondent writes: The external affairs ministry of India yesterday summoned Bangladesh's Acting High Commissioner Masud bin Momen and lodged a strong protest against the killing of BSF AC Jeewan Kumar.

The entire incident appears to be "premeditated and pre-planned," Joint Secretary at the ministry Neelam Singh Deo told Momen, adding the repercussions of the incident cannot be ignored, a ministry spokesman said yesterday.

Describing the incident as "unfortunate", Indian State Minister for Home Affairs Sriprakash Jaiswal expressed the hope that Bangladesh would take action against those responsible for the death of the BSF officer.

"This action of BDR was very unfortunate. We have registered our strong protest and Bangaldesh has also expressed regret for it. We hope they will now take action against the guilty parties," he told reporters in New Delhi.

However, he admitted that the assistant commandant should not have gone alone to an area where he could be attacked.

Jaiswal said increased co-ordination between the border forces of the two countries was essential to avoid recurrence of such incidents in the future. "We are working towards that aim," he added.

TELE-TALK DIPLOMACY
UNB reports: In a major development on diplomatic front, India and Bangladesh yesterday made a serious effort to defuse tensions along the border and maintain friendly relations between the two next-door neighbours.

The tele-talk diplomacy was launched following Saturday's exchange of gunfire between the two border forces on Akhaura frontier.

Diplomatic sources told UNB that State Minister for Home Affairs Lutfozzaman Babor had telephonic talks with his Indian counterpart Sriprakash Jaiswal yesterday afternoon.

The sources said the two ministers discussed the overall border situation and "the urgency of restoring peace and tranquillity on the frontier". Babar could not be reached for comment.

In another quick development amid the face-off between their forces, BSF chief SR Mooshahary yesterday made a phone call to BDR chief Maj Gen Jahangir Alam Choudhury.

Choudhury said Mooshahary thanked him for the excellent cordiality and hospitality extended to them during the border conference in Dhaka that concluded on the day the Akhaura flare-up took place.

"He rang me up and we exchanged pleasantries," the BDR chief said.

He said the BDR-BSF gunfight at Akhaura did not crop up during the conversation, claiming there is no tense situation prevailing along the border.

Meanwhile, Foreign Minister M Morshed Khan had a meeting with the chiefs of key law-enforcement agencies at his office reviewing the border situation. Foreign Affairs Adviser Reaz Rahman, State Minister Lutfozzaman Babar, home secretary and the chiefs of law-enforcement and intelligence agencies were present.

PROBE BODY INTO CLASH
The home ministry yesterday formed a four-member committee headed by Joint Secretary (Police) Anwarul Karim to investigate the Akhaura incident and submit a report within seven days.

The other members of the committee are the deputy commissioner and police super of Brahmanbaria and a Lt Col of BDR, said a home ministry official.

Sources said the committee already got down to conducting the inquiry.

At least three Bangladeshis including a girl were killed in a fierce encounter between BSF and BDR on Akhaura border on April 16.

The firefight ensued as BSF men entered Fakirmura village of Akhaura upazila and opened fire on the BDR, who had resisted the intruders.