BANGLADESH

The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) man, who was allegedly abducted by Indian 'smugglers' early Friday morning, is recuperating in the capital.

India's Border Security Force (BSF) handed over habilder Lutfar Rahman at the Akhaura border around 3am on Saturday, BGB's public relations officer Mohsin Reza told .

"Habilder Lutfar is sick. He has been sent to Dhaka," BGB-12 battalion commander lieutenant colonel Mostafizur Rahman told on Saturday. "He is being treated at the BGB headquarters hospital at Peelkhana."

According to BGB sources, Indian smugglers kidnapped Lutfar Rahman following a clash with a BGB team at Dalkia village in Sadar Dakkhin upazila on Friday morning.

The sources said BGB personnel opened fire when some Indian smugglers attempted to enter Bangladesh through the porous Tripura border with a cache of the banned cough syrup Phensedyl. While one smuggler, identified as Shah Alam, 40, died in the firing, fellow smugglers took away the body and also abducted the BGB habilder.

They later handed over Lutfar to the BSF at the Indian paramilitary force's Dhanpur camp.

The BGB said Shah Alam was a drug peddler from Sonamura in western Tripura, about 80 kilometres west of the state capital Agartala.

Quoting BSF officials, the Indian media reported that Shah Alam was a civilian and he died in BGB firing after some of its members entered Indian territory.

On Friday, BGB Battalion-33 Lt Col Aktaruzzaman told reporters that they had a flag meeting with BSF at zero point along Tarapukur border for Lutfar's release.

The one-and-half-an-hour-long meeting, also attended by BSF Battalion-29 Gausava Dhanpur Camp commander A K Helbaram and his deputy Anil Kumar, ended without a decision, Aktaruzzaman said.

Habilder Lutfar's 'abduction' comes close on the heels of some BSF members allegedly stripping and assaulting a Bangladeshi villager earlier this week along the West Bengal border.