Shardul.....the lion
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Quietly late last month, a Border Security Force court sentenced seven constables to 89 days in jail each for their part in the torture of a Bangladeshi man that was caught on video in January.
The court decided the men’s commander, a chief constable, was involved in the incident but did not sentence him to any detention, instead reducing his rank from chief constable to constable and withholding two pay raises, said Vikas Chandra, a BSF spokesman.
“It’s a very big punishment,” Mr. Chandra said.
The 11-minute video, taken on a cell phone, allegedly by the perpetrators, gave a rare window into abuses that human rights groups say are commonplace on the porous border between India’s West Bengal state and Bangladesh, across which scores of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and cattle rustlers pass each day.
It shows the constables stripping a Bangladeshi man naked, trussing him to a stick and beating him repeatedly while he pleads for mercy. The video caused barely a ripple in India’s media or among politicians when it emerged in January, a fact which human rights groups say shows how desensitized India has become to cases of abuse by the BSF on the border.
The court-martial verdict has not been reported in the Indian media.
In Bangladesh, the video caused an outcry and created a headache for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been working hard to improve relations with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. It’s also an embarrassment for Mr. Singh who in 2007 stated a “zero tolerance” policy for human rights abuses.
“The unfortunate incident at India-Bangladesh border was investigated by the Border Security Force within their jurisdiction. The Ministry of External Affairs had regretted the incident and asked the BSF to conduct an enquiry which held a court martial. The Prime Minister’s Office did not play any role in this affair,” the office said in a statement Monday.
Activists who follow these events say scores of other abuses, including shooting incidents involving BSF constables, have gone unpunished in recent years.
India says it’s making progress in reducing the killings. Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said last month after a meeting in New Delhi with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sahara Khatun, there had been a “dramatic decline” in shootings.
Mr. Chidambaram acknowledged, however, there were still three incidents on the border in the past eight months, leading to the deaths of four people. He said the deaths were unavoidable after BSF personnel came under attack by Bangladeshis. India and Bangladesh are planning joint patrols in sensitive parts of the frontier to attempt to further quell violence.
The Price for Torture: Three Months, Demotion - India Real Time - WSJ
8 BSF 'brutes' given 89-day jail
Dhaka, Mar 14 (bdnews24.com) � A Border Security Force (BSF) court has jailed eight of its personnel for 89 days for torturing a young Bangladeshi in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
The personnel were found prima facie guilty after a court of inquiry was instituted into the incident which took place in early February, a PTI report said.
They can resume duty only after serving the term in BSF's 'quarter guard' � the paramilitary force's version of jail, it said quoting officials of the border guards.
As additional punishment, one of the eight BSF personnel was demoted from the post of head constable to constable in order to facilitate his jailing, since as per the BSF rules, a head constable cannot be sent to jail, an official told PTI.
The jailed BSF personnel are Verendar Tiwari, VS Victor, Dhananjoy Kumar, Anand Singh, Amar Jyoti, Snajeev Kumar, Suresh Chand and Sunil Kumar.
The BSF, widely criticised for killing Bangladeshis along the border, suspended the eight of its personnel on Jan 18 and ordered 'court martial' proceedings against them recently after some Indian TV channels aired a video showing a Bangladeshi man being stripped, kicked and beaten by them.
The video showed three to four personnel, donning BSF-style dark green fatigues, stripping and then beating a lungi-clad man with his hands tied behind his back in the incident that reportedly took place on Dec 9.
Habibur Rahman, 22, son of Saidur Rahman of Satero Rashia under Durlavpur union council of Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj, was the man tortured. He told bdnews24.com on Jan 19 that he was tortured by the BSF men while returning to Bangladesh with cattle through Khanpur border of Paba upazila in Rajshahi district on Dec 9 last year.
8 BSF 'brutes' given 89-day jail | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
The court decided the men’s commander, a chief constable, was involved in the incident but did not sentence him to any detention, instead reducing his rank from chief constable to constable and withholding two pay raises, said Vikas Chandra, a BSF spokesman.
“It’s a very big punishment,” Mr. Chandra said.
The 11-minute video, taken on a cell phone, allegedly by the perpetrators, gave a rare window into abuses that human rights groups say are commonplace on the porous border between India’s West Bengal state and Bangladesh, across which scores of illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and cattle rustlers pass each day.
It shows the constables stripping a Bangladeshi man naked, trussing him to a stick and beating him repeatedly while he pleads for mercy. The video caused barely a ripple in India’s media or among politicians when it emerged in January, a fact which human rights groups say shows how desensitized India has become to cases of abuse by the BSF on the border.
The court-martial verdict has not been reported in the Indian media.
In Bangladesh, the video caused an outcry and created a headache for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who has been working hard to improve relations with Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. It’s also an embarrassment for Mr. Singh who in 2007 stated a “zero tolerance” policy for human rights abuses.
“The unfortunate incident at India-Bangladesh border was investigated by the Border Security Force within their jurisdiction. The Ministry of External Affairs had regretted the incident and asked the BSF to conduct an enquiry which held a court martial. The Prime Minister’s Office did not play any role in this affair,” the office said in a statement Monday.
Activists who follow these events say scores of other abuses, including shooting incidents involving BSF constables, have gone unpunished in recent years.
India says it’s making progress in reducing the killings. Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram said last month after a meeting in New Delhi with his Bangladeshi counterpart, Sahara Khatun, there had been a “dramatic decline” in shootings.
Mr. Chidambaram acknowledged, however, there were still three incidents on the border in the past eight months, leading to the deaths of four people. He said the deaths were unavoidable after BSF personnel came under attack by Bangladeshis. India and Bangladesh are planning joint patrols in sensitive parts of the frontier to attempt to further quell violence.
The Price for Torture: Three Months, Demotion - India Real Time - WSJ
8 BSF 'brutes' given 89-day jail
Dhaka, Mar 14 (bdnews24.com) � A Border Security Force (BSF) court has jailed eight of its personnel for 89 days for torturing a young Bangladeshi in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, Indian media reported on Wednesday.
The personnel were found prima facie guilty after a court of inquiry was instituted into the incident which took place in early February, a PTI report said.
They can resume duty only after serving the term in BSF's 'quarter guard' � the paramilitary force's version of jail, it said quoting officials of the border guards.
As additional punishment, one of the eight BSF personnel was demoted from the post of head constable to constable in order to facilitate his jailing, since as per the BSF rules, a head constable cannot be sent to jail, an official told PTI.
The jailed BSF personnel are Verendar Tiwari, VS Victor, Dhananjoy Kumar, Anand Singh, Amar Jyoti, Snajeev Kumar, Suresh Chand and Sunil Kumar.
The BSF, widely criticised for killing Bangladeshis along the border, suspended the eight of its personnel on Jan 18 and ordered 'court martial' proceedings against them recently after some Indian TV channels aired a video showing a Bangladeshi man being stripped, kicked and beaten by them.
The video showed three to four personnel, donning BSF-style dark green fatigues, stripping and then beating a lungi-clad man with his hands tied behind his back in the incident that reportedly took place on Dec 9.
Habibur Rahman, 22, son of Saidur Rahman of Satero Rashia under Durlavpur union council of Shibganj upazila in Chapainawabganj, was the man tortured. He told bdnews24.com on Jan 19 that he was tortured by the BSF men while returning to Bangladesh with cattle through Khanpur border of Paba upazila in Rajshahi district on Dec 9 last year.
8 BSF 'brutes' given 89-day jail | Bangladesh | bdnews24.com
