Border killings continue despite BSF promise

Border killings continue despite India’s Border Security Force’s repeated assurance of bringing it down to zero.

At least 10 Bangladeshis were shot dead allegedly by BSF after its Director General Nitin Agarwal said the border force personnel are using non-lethal weapons with intent to minimise the causalities during the DG-level border conference held on March 10.

Of the deceased, four were killed in March, three in April, two in May, and another this month, according to data from the rights group, Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK).

According to ASK and media reports, 12 Bangladeshis, including a BGB member, have so far been killed by the BSF this year, raising questions about the effectiveness of the border force’s measures.

“The border killings have been going on for a long time. This cannot continue, and it must be resolved immediately through discussion,” ASK Executive Director Faruq Faisel told The Daily Star recently.

He said, “India also shares borders with China and Pakistan, but we don’t see such killings there. This will continue unless the Bangladesh authorities take a logical and stronger stance against it.”

ASK data show 31 people were killed in BSF shootings last year, up from 23 in 2022. In 2021, 18 were killed in BSF firings.

The latest border killing was reported on June 9 when a Bangladeshi was shot dead by BSF along Jamtala border in Cumilla’s Burichang upazila.  Bangladesh shares a 4,096km long border with India, the fifth-longest land border in the world. A large part of the border remains unfenced, while some border points are known for illegal entry and smuggling of various items, including drugs and cattle.

BSF often claims that its members open fire in self-defence, although this has been rejected by rights bodies and victims’ families who say that is not always the case.

Kirity Roy, secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a rights organisation based in West Bengal, told The Daily Star that they found evidence that in several cases the BSF’s self-defence claim was fictitious.

According to the MASUM’s April report, a Bangladeshi youth was killed in BSF firing near Lalmonirhat border on March 25, while he was smuggling cattle into Bangladesh. BSF personnel first shot him with a shotgun and then with a rifle.

At that time, 19-year-old Liton Miya was 75m inside Indian territory. He was hit by pellets and bullets on his chest and abdomen. But in the BSF complaint, they claimed that they did not fire to kill Liton.

In its March report, the rights body mentioned another Bangladeshi Rabiul Islam alias Tuklu, 34, was killed by BSF personnel along Dahagram border of Lalmonirhat’s Patgram upazila on January 28.

It was reported that on his head, Rabiul was trying to smuggle a bag containing 50kg of sugar into Bangladesh. He was alone as stated by villagers. It is evident that he was not in the position to attack BSF members, MASUM said in the report.

Kirity said that instead of arresting a person and handing them over to police, the BSF personnel shot them dead. Such killings demonstrate the trigger-happy characteristics of India’s border guards.