Al Mamun Harun Ur Rashid :
Despite repeated promises to bring down border killings to zero along the Bangladesh-India territory, the pledges have not been materialised yet rather killings of innocent peoples continue.
Bangladesh government said that they would place the issue to the highest level to bring the solution of the unending border killings by the Border Security Force (BSF).
On Wednesday, two Bangladeshi individuals were fatally shot by BSF gunfire near the Tentulia border in Panchagarh.
The incident occurred near the Khoighat Para border early in the morning, as reported by Lt. Col. Jubayed Hassan, commander of the 18th BGB Battalion.
The deceased were identified as Abdul Jalil, 24, from Tentulia’s Magura area, and Yasin Ali, 23, from the Tiranihat Brammatal area.
According to locals, a group of individuals had ventured to the border area when they were fired upon by the BSF, who subsequently took the bodies into India.
Although the deceased have been identified, no complaint has been lodged by the local administration or their families, as stated by Lt. Col. Jubayed. Despite both Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreeing during their bilateral meeting in September 2022 to strive towards reducing border-related deaths to zero, incidents of border killings by the Indian Border Security Force have persisted.
Notably, during Sheikh Hasina’s discussions in Delhi, a 17-year-old Bangladeshi boy was shot dead by India’s BSF along the Dainur border in Dinajpur Sadar upazila on September 7.
Human rights groups have underscored that such incidents have continued despite assurances from the Indian side to end them.
According to data from Ain o Salish Kendra, the BSF was responsible for the deaths of at least 18 Bangladeshis along the border with India in 2022.
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud in his ministry expressed regret over border killings, emphasising Bangladesh’s commitment to end such incidents.
He stated that Bangladesh and India are actively engaged in discussions to ensure border forces exercise restraint and avoid actions leading to fatalities.
“We are against border killings. We are working on it so that it does not happen. We are in regular consultations with India,” he made the remarks following the reported shooting of two Bangladeshi men by the Indian Border Security Force near Tetulia upazila in Panchagarh.
He further said that he would talk about the issue with Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra who is scheduled to arrive in Dhaka on Wednesday night.
Kwatra will have meeting with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and finalised her schedule to visit Delhi in July.
Talking to the New Nation on Wednesday, international expert and Professor of Dhaka University Imtiaz Ahmed said that the killings of innocent people along the border are unlawful.
“Usually the smugglers intrude India. If these people are unarmed, they can be arrested. Killing innocent people is unlawful. BSF has no jurisdiction to kill in this way,” he said.
Asked about the solution to end border killing, he cited the example of China and India’s border agreement in 1996, which includes that both sides shall not open fire within two kilometers from the line of actual control.
“If this example is followed for common borders of Bangladesh and India, it will stop unlawful killing of Bangladeshi nationals,” he said.
South Asia Director of Human Rights watch Meenakshi Ganguly once said, “It is true that a lot of illegal activities, including smuggling and trafficking, occur on the India-Bangladesh border, but smuggling is not a crime that warrants the death penalty.”
She further stated that the BSF justifies the killings citing self-defence reasons or that the suspects were evading arrest, but in none of the police reports filed has a bomb or firearm been found on the person.
The BSF bullet has not spared Felani Khatun, a 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl who was shot and killed by BSF on 7 January 2011. Still her family did not get justice. The Felani murder case is still pending in the Supreme Court of India.
Like Felani, many innocent lives of Bangladeshi nationals were lost by the shootings of the BSF.
At least 1,923 Bangladeshi civilians were killed by the India BSF between 2000 and 2023. In 2023, more than 30 Bangladeshis were killed.
Apart from civilians, a member of Border Guard Bangladesh Mohammad Rais Uddin was shot dead by BSF in the Benapole border area in Jashore in January this year.