Bangladesh border troops kill 3 Indian workers

The firing came a week after a trip to India by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia aimed at boosting ties between the neighbours.

Bangladesh border troops have shot dead three Indian workers and injured four others, an Indian official said on Wednesday.

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The firing came a week after a trip to India by Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia aimed at boosting ties between the neighbours whose relations have been marred by sporadic border clashes and civilian killings.

Around 100 workers were repairing a road 150 yards from the so-called border "zero-point" when Bangladeshi troops "intruded" into Indian territory and asked the Indians to stop working, the official said.

"When the workers refused, Bangladeshi guards fired indiscriminately, killing two workers on the spot while one succumbed to injuries Tuesday," SS Sandhu, additional deputy inspector general of India's Border Security Force (BSF), said.

Four others were seriously wounded, he said.

Bangladeshi officials were not immediately available for comment.

The incident took place at Jamaldah Balapukri village in Cooch Behar district, around 600 kilometers north of Kolkata, capital of India's West Bengal state adjoining Bangladesh.

The Bangladeshi troops dragged the bodies of two Indians into their territory, but returned them after border officials from both sides met, BSF inspector general SR Tiwari said.

India accuses Bangladesh of pushing illegal migrants across the border and harbouring insurgents fighting Indian rule in its northeast -- a charge rejected by Dhaka.

Sixteen Indian and three Bangladeshi soldiers were killed in 2001 in the deadliest border clash between the two sides.