AGARTALA, August 17 (TIWN): A reconciliation meeting was held at Sonamura today over the clash between villagers of Ghatigarh under North Kalamchoura gram Panchayat and BSF jawans. Sub-Divisional Magistrate (Sonamura) Subhashish Das, who presided over the meeting, asked the villagers to seek unconditional apology within 7 PM this evening after the border guards produced audio-visual evidence showing a group of women breaching the Indo-Bangla international border, violating restrictive orders in the border area and gathering in large numbers with weapons on person, engaging in clashes with BSF personnel on duty.

 Asked about the issue, Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Subhashish Das said this evening that a meeting was held this morning with the Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), BSF officials from 158 battalion, gram Panchayat representatives and ward members from Ghatigarh area of North Kalamchoura gram Panchayat.

SDM Das said that the BSF authorities produced audio-visual evidence proving involvement of a group of local women in cutting the barbed wire fence open among other crimes. “Barbed wire fence is a standing decision of the central government for all bordering areas of the nation. Anybody contributing to the necessity of safety and security of the borders would support the idea”, he said.

“The evidence is enough to be produced before a court of law but we have given them a last chance of reconciliation by offering unconditional apology by 7 PM this evening failing which the issue would b e forwarded to the court. “We have received an apology from the villagers. Officer-in-Charge of Kalamchoura police station received the apology letter from the villagers”, SDM Das said at 6 PM this evening. He added that text of the letter would be now reviewed and examined to figure out the next course of action.

The official further said that a vested interest group was at work behind the clash. “A section of the local residents are trying to put up resistance against the fencing work. They have now used the women as shield to damage the floodlighting work. We have made it clear that they would have to issue us clearance from the local bodies in black and white about consent to complete barbed wire fencing in the unfenced patch of land. Sonamura sub-division currently has 335 mt of unfenced border with Bangladesh.