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BSF chief briefs meeting called by PM

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

Union Home Secretary Kamal Pande on Sunday admitted there was strong resentment among the Border Security Force personnel over the " brutal murder" of 16 of their jawans by the Bangladesh Rifles.

"Yes, there is a strong feeling of resentment among the BSF personnel," Pande said while briefing reporters on the meeting summoned by Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee to take stock of the situation in the wake of the BDR intrusion in Maghalaya and Assam.

Pande said BSF Director-General Gurbachan Jagat apprised those present at the meeting about the Pyrdiwah village incident.

"We have gone into the preliminary report given by the BSF DG. He has seen the condition of the bodies. We have reasons to believe that at least eight jawans were murdered in cold blood," Pande said.

He said the government was now awaiting an assurance from the Bangladesh government that it would inquire into the killings. "We will wait for the (inquiry) report of the Bangaldesh government."

Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Syed Moazzem Ali had told the media on Saturday in Dhaka that following the Indian government's protest over the border skirmish, the Sheikh Hasina Wajid government had decided to order a probe into the incident.

At first, the Bangladesh foreign secretary had sought to apportion the blame (for the killings of the BSF jawans) on the villagers near the border. However, when the Vajpayee government asked Bangladesh to apprehend the culprits involved, Ali said the probe would be "reflective" of the Indian government's concern.

Pande denied there had been any intelligence failure on the part of the Vajpayee government which was responsible for the border incident.

" I don't think there was any intelligence failure. However, since we are going through the BSF DG's preliminary findings, I will not be able to throw any further light on the issue," the home secretary said.

Significantly, the union home secretary did not allow Jagat to answer any questions. "I am here to answer your questions," he said when a couple of questions were addressed to the BSF director-general.

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