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The Prime Minister on Saturday took a "serious view" of the mutilation of bodies of 15 Border Security Force soldiers, who were killed in Boraibari, along the Assam border, on Wednesday by the Bangladesh Rifles, even as India decided to lodge a "strong protest" over the torture meted out to the Indian personnel.
In the morning, Prime Minister A B Vajpayee spoke to Home Minister L K Advani who is away in Ahmedabad and also to BSF Director General Gurbachan Jagat in Shillong, a PMO spokesman said.
The prime minister asked Jagat to rush back to Delhi with all the facts about the border clashes.
"The government is also lodging a strong protest with Bangladesh over the torture of the BSF men and the mutilation of the bodies handed over to Indian authorities late Friday night," the spokesman said.
India accepted the bodies of the BSF soldiers after a flag meeting between BSF and BDR Commanders at Kamalpur in Bangladesh held on Friday night, after an earlier meeting at Kakrepara on the Indian side had failed to resolve the issue.
"Almost all the bodies brought by BDR were highly mutilated and beyond recognition. We have now accepted them," a senior BSF officer had said after Indian authorities had refused to accept them initially.
Jagat, who flew to the border areas for an on the spot inquiry, was present at the checkpost when the bodies were brought. They were handed over without the weapons carried by the killed soldiers.
Even as an uneasy calm prevailed on the Indo-Bangla border following the clashes since April 16, a spokesman of the external affairs ministry had indicated last night that the "unfortunate developments" could be the result of "local adventurism", thereby virtually absolving Bangladesh government of any planned hosti "Local adventurism can lead to unfortunate developments like the unwarranted and unprovoked action by BDR," he had said.
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