A Correspondent, Meherpur:

A 64-year-old woman, who moved from Bangladesh to India 30 years ago and gained Indian citizenship, was shot dead by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) early Monday near Meherpur Sadar Upazila.

The deceased, Istafon Khatun, was the wife of Rahmot Ali from Bihar, India, and the daughter of the late Komor Ali of Shalika village in Meherpur Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh.

Hasem Ali, the victim’s elder brother, stated that members of the Natna BSF camp fired on Istafon when she attempted to cross the barbed wire fence near Main Pillar No. 116 of the Nabinagar Khalpara border.

“Istafon died instantly, and her body was taken to the 84 BSF Battalion Natna Camp under Tehatta Police Station in Nadia District,” he added.

Hasem Ali explained that Istafon had left Bangladesh 30 years ago to live with her husband in Bihar. Following her husband’s death a few days ago, Istafon was living alone.

“A few weeks ago, she visited us in Bangladesh and returned to India. After her husband’s death, she decided to move back to Bangladesh as she had no one to care for her in Bihar. For the past three days, she had been staying near the border in Nabinagar of Tehatta Thana, waiting for an opportunity to cross the fence. Her last call was on Sunday night,” said Hasem.

“She told me she would cross the border whenever she got the chance and asked me to stay awake.”

In the middle of the night, Hasem received the news that Istafon had been shot dead by the BSF while crossing the border.

Biplab Hossain, the son of Istafon’s brother, said they contacted the Buripota BGB camp to retrieve her body. However, the BGB did not guarantee they could recover it because the incident occurred inside India.

Manmohan, the commander of the Buripota BGB camp, stated, “BSF has not informed us about this incident as it took place inside India.”

“The victim was born in Bangladesh, and her brother and other family members live in the bordering village of Shalika. It is believed that this incident occurred while she was attempting to enter Bangladesh illegally,” added the commander.