Dhaka, March 28 -- Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud has said that the recent shooting deaths of two Bangladeshis at the border were due to the fact that they had illegally crossed into Indian territory.

Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) has officially protested these incidents with India's Border Security Force (BSF), he said on Thursday.

Mahmud noted that the BSF has increased its use of 'non-lethal weapons', which has prevented the death toll from being significantly higher.

During the media briefing, the minister was asked about the deaths of two Bangladeshis in Lalmonirhat on Monday and the BSF's firing along the Naogaon border a day later, bdnews24.com reports.

He explained that the first incident occurred in Lalmonirhat on the night of...