Meghalaya: Suspected smuggler killed in BSF firing near Indo-Bangla border

Shillong: The security forces in Meghalaya allegedly shot dead a suspected sugar smuggler while his accomplice was injured in firing near the Indo-Bangaldesh international border, officials said on Saturday.
Officials said that one Asen M Marak, in his mid-forties, was killed in the firing from BSF Meghalaya Frontier on March 1.
The identity and whereabouts of his accomplice, who is believed to have been hit in the leg, are being ascertained by both police and BSF currently, said officials.
Confirming the incident, Sohra sub-divisional officer (Civil) Salon Verma said the matter is under inquiry and all formalities are being followed. “I will personally conduct the inquest after the investigating team returns to the base with all relevant information gathered. The postmortem will be conducted here in Sohra, and thereafter, the law will take its course towards a logical conclusion,” she told HT over the phone from Sohra.
Officials said that the incident took place at Dalia village near Shella in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district at around 8pm, when a BSF posse on duty came upon a group of people allegedly trying to smuggle sugar, onion, and other materials that fetch a hefty price in Bangladesh.
Sharing preliminary details of the incident, a senior BSF officer said though such acts occur frequently, it was different this time as about 300 people from both sides of the international border converged at the spot and confronted the BSF team, which after resorting to all legal measures to contain the crowd, had to resort to two rounds of firing resulting in the death of Marak.
“Almost 300 people from both sides of the border converged at the site to confront the BSF personnel. While a group engaged with the BSF personnel, another group quickly took the head load of contraband to remove any evidence of smuggling along with the person who was alive then, to the village where he succumbed to his injuries,” the officer, who did not wish to be named, told HT over the phone.
The officer elaborated, “The boys initially used all non-lethal measures such as chilli grenade, stun grenade, and even PAG (pump action gun) to quell the growing aggressive crowd. But they (the crowd) attacked the team with machetes, knives and other weapons.”
However, it did not work as the crowd got out of control and charged the BSF team with weapons, said the officer. The team initially fired once in the air and subsequently fired again, resulting in the injury of two persons, he added. 
“As per convention, unlike the western border, there is a treaty wherein, non-lethal measures will be first adopted in cases of border confrontation or skirmishes and the boys had to take to the last resort to save themselves,” the officer added.