Bangladesh says 3 die in India border shooting

Three Bangladeshis including a mother and child were shot dead by Indian troops along the border between the two countries, triggering a protest by Dhaka, Bangladesh's border force said on Monday.

They accused India's Border Security Force (BSF) personnel of intruding into Bangladesh territory near Tentulia, in the north, on Sunday night and opening fire indiscriminately.

Three Bangladesh nationals were killed and another was critically wounded in the shooting, said a spokesman of Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guard.

"We have lodged a strong protest with the BSF over the incident and tightened security along the border," he told Reuters.

He said Tentulia villagers held a BSF member with firearms and handed him to the BDR. He was injured, apparently beaten by the villagers, and has been admitted to a hopsital, the BDR spokesman said.

Despite generally friendly relations, Indian and Bangladeshi border guards often exchange fire along their porous border which stretches 4,000 kilometres through rice fields, hills, jungles, marshes and rivers.

The victims are usually smugglers, cattle thieves and illegal migrants, they say.

In 2001, at least 16 Indian and three Bangladeshi soldiers were killed in the worst clashes between the two countries.