One person shot by BSF in C’nawabganj
Staff Reporter :
Border tensions between Bangladesh and India continue as incidents of shootings at the border persist, despite India’s repeated promises to bring such killings to zero.
According to Ain o Salish Kendra, a human rights organization, at least 25 Bangladeshis were killed and 25 injured by BSF shootings between January and December 2024.
The border situation in Chapainawabganj district has worsened in the recent time following clashes over a mango tree and fencing attempts by India.
As the latest development, on Saturday morning, a Bangladeshi youth, Habil Uddin, 30, was shot by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) personnel near the Telkupi border in Shibganj upazila.
Habil, a resident of Bagachipara village, was watering his wheat field around 5:30 am when the BSF allegedly opened fire.
He sustained a bullet wound to his back and was rushed to Rajshahi Medical College Hospital.
Doctors there confirmed his condition was critical and required immediate surgery.
However, the 59th Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) battalion commander, Lieutenant Colonel Golam Kibria, stated that Habil was part of a group of eight Bangladeshis attempting to cross the border illegally for smuggling.
However, locals told the media that the border situation at the area has been deteriorated in the recent past.
In a bid to normalise the border tensions at points of the two countries, on Wednesday, a sector commander-level meeting was held in Chapainawabganj to address recent border skirmishes. The meeting resulted in an agreement on four key points.
These included preventing anyone except Bangladeshi and Indian farmers from entering within 150 yards of the border, resolving border issues through dialogue and coordinated efforts, combating propaganda and rumors related to border matters, and taking steps to curb illegal immigration and drug smuggling to ensure border security.
Apart from it both Bangladesh and India is going to hold bi-annual Director General-level talks between the BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) in Delhi from February 16 to 20.
These talks, originally scheduled for October 2024, were postponed due to the political situation in Bangladesh. The last talks were held in Dhaka.
After the regime change, such high level meeting is go to be held between the two countries to talk on border issues.
According to the Indian media, the key topics on the agenda of the talks will include border fencing, trans-border crimes, and coordinated patrolling, according to media report.
Meanwhile, the BGB on Friday said there is no secret matter regarding the bi-annual meeting in Delhi.
In an official statement shared on its verified Facebook page on Friday, the BGB emphasised, “This is not a secret matter about its Director General (DG) Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui’s visit to India.”
BGB came up with the reaction following news published in media outlets in the country under the title ‘Secrecy over BGB chief’s India visit, storm of criticism on social media’.
Meanwhile, spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs Randhir Jaiswal while talking with the media on Friday said, “Agreements have been made between us and Bangladesh regarding border fencing.”
“Border fencing is essential to curb criminal activities and crime-related incidents in the area. We believe that Bangladesh will implement all the agreements made so far with us on border fencing with a positive and constructive approach, so that issues like crime, human smuggling, and cattle smuggling along the border can be addressed and our vision to create a crime-free border can be achieved,” he said.
