'Indian forces killing with impunity'

A rights group says Indian security forces are routinely gunning down cattle smugglers and other civilians crossing the border with Bangladesh despite scant evidence of any crime.

A rights group says Indian security forces are routinely gunning down cattle smugglers and other civilians crossing the border with Bangladesh despite scant evidence of any crime.

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Human Rights Watch says in a report that while authorities say suspects were killed in self-defense or for evading arrest, it found nothing in the cases it examined to justify such an extreme response.

It says many of the 900 Bangladeshis killed over the last decade along the border were farmers or labourers taking cattle illegally across for trade.

Residents also complain of beatings and intimidation, but no guards have been prosecuted. The report, released on Thursday, was based on more than 100 interviews with victims, witnesses and border guards from both India and Bangladesh.