DHAKA, Aug 24 (Reuters) - A total of 59 people have been killed trying to cross the border between India and Bangladesh illegally in the last six months, a senior Indian officer said on Sunday.

Ashish Kumar Mitra, director-general of India's Border Security Force (BSF), said the dead included 34 Bangladeshis and 21 Indians, while the others could not be identified.

India has imposed a night curfew along its border with Bangladesh and built barbed-wire fences on parts of it to stop movement by smugglers and illegal immigrants.

"The night curfew is enforced in our territory along the border, so anyone crosses into India from Bangladesh may risk his life," Mitra told a news conference following a half-yearly meeting with his Bangladesh counterpart. (Reporting by Masud Karim; Writing by Nizam Ahmed)

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