DHAKA: India's border agency chief said he was working with Bangladesh to bring down the number of people killed along the two countries' porous border.

The pledge to bring casualties to zero comes amid concern that Indian soldiers were too aggressive.

Indian border director U K Bansal told a news conference Saturday that steps had already been taken to cut the number of casualties.

He said six Bangladeshis had been killed by India's Border Security Force this year. The number was 55 in 2009.

He said the two sides had discussed issues like illegal migration, smuggling and other cross-border crimes at a five-day border conference in Dhaka.

New York-based Human Rights Watch has repeatedly criticised the Indian force in recent years for killing too many Bangladeshis along the border.