August 26, 2008	Tuesday	Sha’aban 23, 1429

DHAKA, Aug 25: An Indian plan to build more fencing on the border with Bangladesh will not stop illegal cattle trading, which leads to regular deaths in the area, a Bangladeshi official said on Monday.

India has erected a barbed wire fence along more than half of the 4,000-kms border in recent years. But Major Mahmudul Hasan, of the Bangladesh Rifles, said that further fencing would not stop the cattle trade.

He said 59 people — 34 Bangladeshis, 21 Indians and four of unidentified nationality — had been in killed by Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) in the past six months.

“Most of the killings are related to illegal cattle trading. If it was legal to trade cattle the killings would stop,” Hasan said. He said the fencing would not reduce the deaths because cattle traders would simply cut through it. If Indian authorities find illegal intruders in their territory, they should bring about justice through legal means, he said.—AFP