The Indian Border Security Force (BSF) returned the body of a Bangladeshi national last night, a day after he was shot by its personnel about 1.5km inside Indian territory along the Chanderhat border in Thakurgaon's Pirganj upazila.

The body of Asadul Haque, 38, of Idrail village in Pirganj upazila, was handed over following a company commander-level flag meeting between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and BSF at the zero line along the Dinajpur border near pillar No 340/3S.

Lt Col Abdullah Al Moin Hasan, commanding officer of BGB 42 Battalion in Dinajpur, who led the Bangladesh delegation, confirmed the information.

Arun Kumar, commandant of 63 BSF Battalion, headed the Indian delegation.

After the meeting, a team from Kaliaganj Police Station in Uttar Dinajpur district of West Bengal formally handed over the body to Pirganj police, who later handed it over to Asadul's family, the BGB official said.

At the meeting, BGB officials strongly protested the killing and condemned the use of lethal force against an unarmed civilian instead of detaining him for legal action over the alleged cross-border crime, he said.

In reply, BSF officials claimed their personnel opened fire after a group of smugglers attacked them.

According to BGB and local sources, BSF personnel from the Chakshibananda camp opened fire on a group of Bangladeshi "smugglers" at Radhikapur village in India around 1:30am on Saturday.

Asadul was injured in the firing and taken by BSF personnel to a hospital in Raiganj, Uttar Dinajpur, where he died while undergoing treatment later that morning.