Saturday, August 20 2005 16:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Kolkata: One Indian villager was injured in fresh, unprovoked firing by Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) personnel from across the India-Bangladesh border at Raipur in West Bengal's Malda district this morning, with the BSF retaliating amidst heightened tension.

West Bengal IGP (Law and Order) Raj Kanojia told sources in Kolkata, that a 17-year-old boy, working in a paddy field at Raipur village in English Bazar block, received bullet injuries in the BDR firing.

He was admitted to hospital, the IGP said.

A top Border Security Force (BSF) official said that there was a fresh exchange of fire between the border guards of the two countries in the morning near the Adampur/Muchi border outpost for the second day today (Aug 20, 2005).

''The exchange of fire lasted several hours. Our men repulsed the BDR firing,'' he said.

The firing ended at midday and the situation, though tense, was under control. The BSF, he said, had contacted BDR authorities in Dhaka about the fresh firing.

A flag meeting bet] likely to be held tomorrow (Aug 21, 2005) to defuse tension and settle the 'dispute' over the anti-erosion work in the Mahananda river, he said.

''BDR has agreed to stop revetment work on its side, and not to interfere with our anti-erosion job,'' the official said.

The anti-erosion work, which drew the ire of the BDR was continuing, the IGP said. The IGP said that Malda district officials and BSF officers were camping at the spot.

An alert has been sounded along the international border along North Bengal districts.

With the intermittent firing continuing, villagers residing in border areas have been asked to move to safer places.

A Siliguri report, quoting the staff officer of the 27th battalion of the South Bengal Frontier of BSF stationed in Malda, Ramkumar, said that the BDR was exploring different channels for a vlag meeting to discuss the issue.

The Deputy Inspector General of BSF O P Gour and other senior officials have rushed to the troubled area at the Adampur-Muchi border outpost, he said.