Dhaka urges India to punish killers of 3 Bangladeshis

Bangladesh on Friday called on India to identify and prosecute those responsible for killing three Bangladeshi citizens who were lynched earlier this week after illegally crossing into India's northeastern state of Tripura.

Officials and Indian media said the men were beaten to death by a mob on Wednesday on suspicion of cattle theft in Tripura's Khowai district, a few kilometers from the Bangladesh border.

Bangladesh's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it urged the Indian government to conduct an "immediate, impartial and transparent" investigation into the incident and to take steps to prevent similar inhumane acts.

"The perpetrators must be identified and brought to justice," it said.

The ministry added that all individuals, regardless of nationality, "are entitled to the full protection of their human rights, regardless of which side of the border they may inadvertently find themselves in."

There was no immediate statement from New Delhi regarding Dhaka's call.

The victims were identified as Jewel Mia, 32, Pati Mia, 45, and Sajal Mia, 20, all residents of Chunarughat town in Bangladesh's northeastern Habiganj district, which borders southern Tripura.

Their bodies were handed over to Bangladeshi authorities by India's Border Security Force (BSF) on Thursday, according to Md Jahidul Islam, officer in charge of Chunarughat police station.

"There was no previous history of cattle smuggling or related cases against the three," Islam told Anadolu. He said the men had illegally crossed the border, and Indian police had opened cases over the killings.

India's Times of India daily reported that the three "suspected" Bangladeshi nationals were lynched by villagers while allegedly trying to steal cattle at Vidvabil village in Khowai district.