2001 Indian – Bangladeshi border conflict The 2001 Bangladeshi – Indian border conflict was a brief armed conflict in April 2001 between Bangladesh and IndiaIndiapoorly marked international border between the countries . Cause . The Partition of Bengal in 1947 left a poorly demarcated international border between India and Bangladesh ( then - East Pakistan ) . Ownership of several villages on both sides of the de facto border were disputed and claimed by both countries . The dispute over the demarcation of the Indo - Bangladeshi border worsened due to the existence of over 190 enclaves . One of the disputed areas was a small sliver of land near the village of Pyrdiwah which the Indian Border Security Force ( BSF ) had occupied since the 1971 liberation of Bangladesh . The village was one of the Indian exclaves near the border of Bangladesh with the Indian state of Meghalaya . Bangladesh claimed that the village was within its territory . Conflict . The April 16 – 19 fighting was the worst since the creation of Bangladesh in 1971 . It took place around the village of Padua ( known as Pyrdiwah in India ) , which adjoins the Indian state of Meghalaya and the Timbil area of the Bangladesh border in the Sylhet district . In that area , 6 . 5 kilometres of the border have remained in dispute for the past 30 years . The trigger for the clash appears to have been an attempt by Indian forces to construct a footpath from an army outpost in Padua across a disputed territory some 300 metres wide to Indian Meghalaya . When the Indian Border Security Force refused to withdraw , the Bangladeshi border force attacked and retook Pyrdiwah village . As per the Bangladesh Rifles chief , the village had been illegally occupied by India since Bangladesh ' s war of independence in 1971 . A few days later , Indian border guards retaliated and tried to enter Boroibari , more than 100 km to the west of Padua / Pyrdiwah . Boroibari is another disputed area between India and Bangladesh . In a violent confrontation 16 Indian border guards died and 2 were injured . The attack also left 3 Bangladeshi border guards dead and 5 injured . About 10 . 000 civilians fled the area after some 24 were wounded in the shooting . Result . Top Indian border security sources claimed that the BDR personnel had withdrawn from the occupied territories in the Meghalaya sector , while in the Assam sector , the Indian BSF had vacated positions seized from Bangladesh . Fresh clashes erupted along the India – Bangladesh border just hours after both sides voiced regret for the recent killings , but by midnight of 20 April firing had again stopped . An article reported that 6 , 000 Indian civilians had fled the region , and Indian government officials were attempting to convince villagers to return to their homes . Bangladesh later agreed to return 16 dead Indian soldiers the next day . Upon examining the bodies of the dead personnel , India alleged that the BSF men were tortured before being shot dead . On the other hand three Bangladeshi soldiers were also killed : two during combat and another who died of wounds sustained during operations . Aftermath . April 2001 , Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina spoke to then - Prime Minister of India , Atal Bihari Vajpayee , and agreed to order a high - level investigation over the incident , especially the torture of BSF men . The two leaders spoke again a month later , and Hasina " expressed regrets " over the border skirmish . Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Raminder Jassal reported that both India and Bangladesh would improve diplomatic channels and promised to exercise restraint in the future . India and Bangladesh started talks in March 2002 to resolve their border disputes . By July 2001 , the two sides established joint working groups to establish the un - demarcated sections of the border . Officially , Bangladesh denied it had initiated hostilities . This was the first armed conflict between India and Bangladesh , two nations that had maintained friendly relations since Bangladeshi independence in 1971 . The end of the brief conflict saw an upsurge of nationalism in Bangladesh . In parliamentary elections , the four - party right - wing alliance led by the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and Jamaat - e - Islami Bangladesh won a majority of 196 seats out of 300 . Bangladesh ordered no courts martial , suspensions , or transfers of any local commanders . Both sides desisted from any further hostilities and began border talks to discuss disputes along their border . Relations were cooled down shortly afterwards . India later began constructing a fence along the entire length of the international border with Bangladesh . India is still in the process of constructing the Indo - Bangladeshi barrier . Bangladesh protested that construction of the fence within 150 yards of the border was a gross violation of the Indo - Bangladeshi Treaty of Friendship , Cooperation and Peace . The Bangladesh government also protested frequent BSF incursions into Bangladesh , and shootings which resulted in the deaths of Bangladeshi citizens inside Bangladeshi territory . In a news conference in August 2008 , it was stated that 97 people had been killed ( 69 Bangladeshis , 28 Indians , rest unidentified ) trying to cross the border illegally during the prior six months .