Agartala, July 6: A Bangladeshi trooper and a civilian captured by villagers in Tripura while trying to abduct an Indian farmer from the border area, were handed over to the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) on Friday, an official here said.

A Bangladeshi Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) trooper and a civilian were held by some villagers while the duo was trying to kidnap an Indian farmer late Thursday in western Tripura’s Champahaur area, around 120 km from here, a Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman here said.

The RAB trooper, Mohammad Safiqul, and Bangladeshi National Subrata Tanti were later handed over by the villagers to the BSF.

According to villagers, Krishna Narayan Kar was working in his paddy fields outside the border fencing when Safiqul and Tanti tried to abduct him.

“As a goodwill gesture, we (BSF) handed over both the men to BGB officials and have asked them to take legal action against the intruders.”

The trooper belongs to the 9th battalion of the RAB.

Earlier on January 21 this year, the BSF had handed over to the Bangladeshi forces BGB personnel Lutfar Rahman, who was caught by some villagers for killing an Indian farmer.

Tripura shares a total of 856-km of border with Bangladesh, some of it unfenced and running through dense forests, making it difficult for Indian security forces to check infiltration.

According to a government official, about 8,750 families comprising over 50,000 people in the State have been affected by the ongoing construction of the barbed wire fencing along the border with Bangladesh. Properties, including fields and ponds of many, have fallen outside the fence.

India is erecting the fence along the 4,095-km India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram to check trans-border movement of militants and to prevent infiltration and border crimes. (IANS)