BSF court acquits soldier of Felani murder charge
Staff Correspondent
A special court of Indias Border Security Force has acquitted its soldier of the charge of killing on January 7, 2011 the teenage Bangladeshi girl Felani Khatun in the Kurigram borders, Indian and international media reported on Friday.
The General Security Forces Court of the Border Security Force in Pashchim Banga of India on Thursday said that BSF constable Amiya Ghosh was not guilty of shooting the 15-year-old Bangladeshi girl as she crossed into Bangladesh from the Indian side in January 2011, the Associated Press reported from Kolkata, the capital of Pashchim Banga.
The Indian border guards are reporte d to have shot dead Felani when she was crossing the border into Bangladesh over barbed-wire fences at Anantapur of Phulbari in Kurigram on January 7, 2011. The incident and a photograph of Felani being stuck shot dead in the barbed-wire fence caused local and international outcry. She was one of 214 Bangladeshis killed in the borders between January 2009 and June 2013 after the Awami League-led government had assumed office.
About two years and eight months after the incident, the General Security Forces Court, which is equivalent to a military court martial, on August 13 2013 began the trial at the 181 BSF Battalion headquarters in Koch Bihar amid restrictions after an investigation of the killing.The trial continued till Thursday when the court acquitted Amiya Ghosh, the only accused in the case, saying that he was innocent.
The accused BSF soldier was released immediately after the verdict, the BBC Bangla reported.
Indian border guard authorities, however, did not disclose anything officially in this regard.
The General Security Forces Court recorded the deposition of Felanis father Nurul Islam and her uncle Hanif Ali as witnesses in the case on August 19. In his reaction to the verdict, Felanis father told New Age, I am really disappointed at the verdict.
I will seek justice from international court.
He, however, said, If the accused has not killed my daughter, then who has killed her?
I narrated the whole incident to the court how my daughter was shot dead from a close distance even after our humble request to the BSF guards, he said.
A senior Border Guard Bangladesh officer told New Age, After coming to know of the matter from the media, we approached our BSF counterparts and requested them to give us details of the verdict. They have yet to respond to our request, the official said on Friday evening.
The BGB director general, Major General Aziz Ahmed, told New Age, If the verdict as we have come to know from media is true, then this is really a matter of disappointment for us.
BSF officials said that the full text of the verdict, delivered on Thursday, would be sent to the BSF chief for the final discharge letter.
Ain o Salish Kendra director Nur Khan Liton is much critical of the whole trial procedure held in the BSF battalion. We were in dark about what exactly was happening in the name of trial.
The fact is that Felani was shot dead at zero point by the BSF soldier and the BSF authorities were trying its guard without disclosing how they were ensuring transparency in whole trial procedure, Nur Khan said on Friday. As a result, we have received this verdict.
The Jatiyatabadi Muktijuddher Prajanma president, Shama Obaed, one of the campaigners demanding justice for Felanis killing, earlier sent a letter to the Indian high commission in Dhaka seeking permission to witness the trial in the BSF establishment in Koch Bihar.Shama told New Age on Friday that the Indian officials in Dhaka had informed her two days ago that she would not be allowed to witness the trial as the BSF was not willing.
After the investigation, the charge sheet was submitted against the BSF constable Amiya Ghosh
under Section 304 of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the laws governing the Indian border guards, according to media reports.
BSF court acquits soldier of Felani murder charge
