**Bangladesh accused of ‘intrusion’ **
India’s Border Security Force - or BSF - says Bangladeshi military helicopters have intruded into Indian airspace on several occasions in the past two days.
They said the incidents took place in a frontier region which has witnessed repeated encounters between the two border forces over the past two months.
They accuse Bangladesh of reinforcing its forces along parts of the border.
Bangladeshi officials on Saturday said two farmers had been shot dead by Indian border troops in the south-west.
**Long gun battles **
The BSF says that the Indian air force has been asked to check on the intrusions and a formal complaint will then be filed.
The BSF’s Inspector General for Tripura-Mizoram frontier, Suresh Kumar Dutt, told the BBC’s Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta that his troops observed Bangladesh military helicopters flying across the border into Indian territory.
He said the intrusions were reported from Chotakhil, Magrum and Beltoli, all in the southern district of the Indian state of Tripura.
This was the sector where the two border forces fought long gun battles in March this year.
Mr Dutt said the helicopters were possibly on surveillance missions, observing BSF outposts and encampments.
He said that the BSF has not fired at them up until now, but would do so if they fly their helicopters into Indian territory again.
‘Media hype’
The inspector general said that BSF outposts have reported substantial reinforcements by the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), particularly in Akhaura, Srimangal and Kurma areas along the border of Tripura.
In these areas he said the BDR was digging camouflaged trenches and had asked villagers to leave.
Bangladesh says India is unlawful in constructing a border fence
Mr Dutt also alleged that the commanding officer of 7th BDR battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Syed Qamruzzaman was creating “media hype” to cover the killing of BSF assistant commandant Jivan Kumar.
The BDR has for its part accused the BSF of flying helicopters over the tense border, but Mr Dutt said the timings given by the BDR matched commercial flight landings at Agartala airport that is on the border.
Mr Dutt conceded that the BSF has also reinforced their outposts to match the additional BDR deployments.
Our correspondent says that the entire Tripura-Bangladesh border has become tense, first after encounters following a border fence India is trying to erect, and then over the killing of Jivan Kumar on 16 April.