Baharampur: Residents of Dhulian, a small town close to the Indo-Bangladesh Border in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district, were alarmed on hearing shots being fired nearby on Saturday night. The town is still recovering from massive communal violence that erupted in the district in April this year.
However, this was not a recurrence of that violence. The shots were fired by a man deployed to maintain peace in the area. Border Security Force (BSF) constable S K Mishra had just shot dead his colleague Ratan Lal Singh (38).
According to the police, Mishra, a resident of Rajasthan and a jawan of the 119 Bn BSF, fired 13 rounds from his INSAS rifle. At least five of these hit Singh. The critically injured jawan was first rushed to the Anupnagar hospital nearby and then shifted to a medical facility in Jangipur, where he was declared dead on arrival.
BSF personnel were deployed to restore peace in Murshidabad, as part of a Calcutta High Court order. Mishra and Singh were among those deployed.
According to officials, Mishra opened fire around 10.30 pm after a heated argument with Singh over some issue. He then fled the scene with the weapon. He was traced and arrested later. The rifle was also recovered. An FIR has been registered against him and Mishra will be produced before a court on Sunday.
The BSF’s South Bengal Frontier has confirmed the incident and officials have said that all cooperation will be provided to the police during the probe. The BSF has also initiated an inquiry of its own to try and find out what led to the violent incident.
Residents of Dhulian and neighbouring areas are now in a fix. They had expressed their lack of confidence on the state police and were happy when the BSF troops were sent in. They do not know how to react to the situation now.
“This is something that should not have happened. Though we were not affected, it has shaken our confidence. We had expected the BSF personnel to be more disciplined and professional in their behaviour. Now, they are shooting each other,” a resident said.
