Banglar Bir
SENIOR MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2006
- Messages
- 7,805
- Reaction score
- -3
- Country
- Location
Brutal killings unabated on Indo-Bangladesh border
Adam Abdullah, November 6, 2017
It has been six years since Bangladeshis woke up to the horrendous photograph of 15-year-old Felani Khatun of Phulbari in Kurigram, hanging upside down on the barbed fence on the Bangladesh-India border with a Indian Border Security Force (BSF) trooper standing nearby.
This heartless act of killing a 15-year-old, and then having her body hang for the public to see, smacked of medieval barbarism. People in Bangladesh were outraged but it got little or no coverage in the Indian media.
Felani was returning home from India with her father through the Anantapur border along Phulbari Upazila of Kurigram on January 7, 2011 when BSF troops fired on her. Trooper Amiya Ghosh, who allegedly killed the child, faced two phases of trial in a court in India, but only to be acquitted at the end.
Killing of Bangladeshis trying to cross the border or lingering near it is continuing though 50 percent of the 4,096 km border had been fenced by March 2017.
However, the numbers have come down since 2010. While the number of killed was above 50 per year from 2007 to 2010, it ranged between 23 and 30 from 2011 and 2017 according to a study conducted by the South Asian Monitor (SAM). This could be attributed to border fencing which makes crossing difficult.
With data collected from documentation cells, newspapers and human rights organizations like the Bureau of Human Rights, Odhikar, Ain O Salish Kendro, SAM found that 494 people were killed and 484 injured by the Indian BSF between 2007 and 2017. That comes to 49 innocent people being eliminated every year in pursuit of “national security”. (See box for detailed year and month wise figures).
According to other sources, between 2006 and 2016, an average of 40 people, mostly Bangladeshis, were killed every year. The Guardian reported that almost 1000 had lost their lives on the border by 2011.
Bangladesh says that those killed are innocent villagers who might have strayed across the porous and very long border inadvertently, and that the BSF often enters Bangladesh to indulge in vengeful killing or even in “land grabbing”.
But the Indians say that the victims are typically cattle smugglers, currency racketeers and even Islamic terrorists who have links on both sides of the border.
According to Daily Mail of UK, about 3000 cows were smuggled across the Indo-Bangla border “every day” till recently. According to an estimate in the Christian Science Monitor Indo-Bangla cattle trade was valued at US$ 1 billion in its heyday. Daily Mail put it at a whopping US$ 5 billion a year.
While cow smuggling is totally banned by India, Indian cows are welcome in Bangladesh for beef, especially during Islamic festive seasons.
Fencing of the border, which is now half done, appears to have brought down cattle smuggling drastically. Smuggling of fake Indian currency by Islamic terror cells was a problem till demonetization of 85% Indian currency in circulation in late 2016.
The Guardian wrote: “Shockingly, some Indian officials endorse shooting people who attempt to cross the border illegally, even if they are unarmed. Almost as shocking is the lack of interest in these killings by foreign governments who claim to be concerned with human rights. A single killing by US law enforcement along the Mexican border makes headlines. The killing of large numbers of villagers by Indian forces has been almost entirely ignored.”
To control this, and also due to officially induced paranoia about Islamic terrorism, the BSF has been allowed to “shoot to kill”. Trigger happy BSF troopers have used this as a short cut to solve the problem. It does not matter to them if most of the victims are innocent as these are citizens of a weak country, which cannot retaliate.
The border guard organizations of the two countries meet periodically but little is achieved because the Indian side describes the victims as criminals and the Bangladeshi side insists that they are innocent.
Recent incidents: A Bangladeshi cattle trader was killed on March 2014 at the border near Satkhira Sadar Upazila by BSF. On January 2016, a Bangladeshi cattle trader was allegedly tortured to death by members BSF at Burungamari Upazila in Kurigram district. The same month, another Bangladesh national was killed by BSF in Sapahar Upazila in Naogaon District.
In April 2016 a Bangladeshi cattle trader was shot in Kurigram district. On June 2016, two Bangladeshis were killed by BSF in Gomostapur. A teenager was killed and three others were injured in BSF shooting in Chuadanga when they went to pick mangoes near the border on May 2016. The BSF suspended seven of its men following this incident.
However, human rights groups have issued strong statements against the killings. Casting India for its callousness, Brad Adams, Executive Director of the Asia Department of Human Right Watch said: “Routinely shooting poor, unarmed villagers is not how the world’s largest democracy should behave,” Adams said.
Commenting on the killings, The Guardian wrote: “Shockingly, some Indian officials endorse shooting people who attempt to cross the border illegally, even if they are unarmed. Almost as shocking is the lack of interest in these killings by foreign governments who claim to be concerned with human rights. A single killing by US law enforcement along the Mexican border makes headlines. The killing of large numbers of villagers by Indian forces has been almost entirely ignored.”
Some of the victims have been children. One father recounted how his sons were beaten by BSF officers. “The BSF personnel surrounded the boys and without giving any reason started beating them with rifle butts, kicking and slapping them. There were nine soldiers, and they beat my sons mercilessly. Even as the boys fell down, the BSF men continued to kick them ruthlessly in their chests and other sensitive organs,” The Guardian wrote in 2011.
“Under pressure, senior Indian officials have expressed revulsion at the behaviour of the BSF and have promised to send new orders to end the shoot-to-kill policy. They have committed to use nonviolent means to apprehend illegal border crossers or smugglers where they pose no risk to life.”
“The question is whether this will be translated into action on the ground. Similar promises of zero tolerance for abuses have been made in Kashmir and elsewhere but have not been fulfilled,” The Guardianwrote.
There has been a reduction in the killings, but this is due more to the fencing than any change of heart on the part of the BSF.
Human rights violations by Indian Border Security Force (BSF), 2007 – 2017
2017 Killed Injured
January 06 07
February 04 08
March 01 —
April 02 03
May 01 —
June 03 06
July 01 03
August — —
September 04 02
October — —
November — —
December — —
Total 41 32
2016 Killed Injured
January 02 03
February — —
March — —
April 01 —
May 02 03
June 03 02
July 03 —
August —
September 06 02
October 01 05
November — —
December 09 —
Total 27 15
2015 Killed Injured
January 02 05
February 02 04
March 02 02
April 09 05
May 01 —
June 01 02
July 02 02
August 02 06
September 01 04
October 02 04
November 03 —
December 02 05
Total 29 39
2014 Killed Injured
January 02 01
February — 03
March 03 08
April 05 08
May 01 02
June 02 02
July 01 03
August 01 03
September 03 07
October 07 01
November 03 02
December 02 02
Total 30 38
2013 Killed Injured
January 07 03
February 01 03
March 03 02
April 02 03
May 02 09
June 03 03
July — 03
August 02 07
September 01 03
October 03 11
November 01 02
December 02 03
Total 23 56
2012 Killed Injured
January 03 03
February 01 09
March 02 03
April 02 08
May 03 01
June 02 02
July 02 02
August 04 02
September 02 02
October 06 11
November — 02
December 04 02
Total 30 47
2011 Killed Injured
January 03 01
February 04 01
March 01 02
April 03 02
May 05 —
June 04 07
July — —
August 01 04
September — 03
October — 01
November 02 —
December 06 06
Total 29 27
2010 Killed Injured
January 10 05
February 05 15
March 05 30
April 01 02
May 03 02
June 05 03
July 05 02
August 05 03
September 02 02
October 04 03
November 05 02
December 04 03
Total 54 72
2009 Killed Injured
January 03 04
February 07 05
March 05 04
April 06 08
May 08 08
June 05 02
July 13 05
August 04 01
September 05 03
October 08 —
November 05 02
December 04 07
Total 73 49
2008 Killed Injured
January 08 05
February 17 04
March 04 02
April 04 06
May 03 05
June 05 03
July 10 06
August 04 03
September 02 02
October 02 —
November 05 02
December 01 02
Total 65 40
2007 Killed Injured
January 14 06
February 11 17
March 11 10
April 09 06
May 08 06
June 03 02
July 03 —
August 08 03
September 06 05
October 07 03
November 07 08
December 06 03
Total 93 69
https://southasianmonitor.com/2017/11/06/brutal-killings-unabated-indo-bangladesh-border/
Adam Abdullah, November 6, 2017
It has been six years since Bangladeshis woke up to the horrendous photograph of 15-year-old Felani Khatun of Phulbari in Kurigram, hanging upside down on the barbed fence on the Bangladesh-India border with a Indian Border Security Force (BSF) trooper standing nearby.
This heartless act of killing a 15-year-old, and then having her body hang for the public to see, smacked of medieval barbarism. People in Bangladesh were outraged but it got little or no coverage in the Indian media.
Felani was returning home from India with her father through the Anantapur border along Phulbari Upazila of Kurigram on January 7, 2011 when BSF troops fired on her. Trooper Amiya Ghosh, who allegedly killed the child, faced two phases of trial in a court in India, but only to be acquitted at the end.
Killing of Bangladeshis trying to cross the border or lingering near it is continuing though 50 percent of the 4,096 km border had been fenced by March 2017.
However, the numbers have come down since 2010. While the number of killed was above 50 per year from 2007 to 2010, it ranged between 23 and 30 from 2011 and 2017 according to a study conducted by the South Asian Monitor (SAM). This could be attributed to border fencing which makes crossing difficult.
With data collected from documentation cells, newspapers and human rights organizations like the Bureau of Human Rights, Odhikar, Ain O Salish Kendro, SAM found that 494 people were killed and 484 injured by the Indian BSF between 2007 and 2017. That comes to 49 innocent people being eliminated every year in pursuit of “national security”. (See box for detailed year and month wise figures).
According to other sources, between 2006 and 2016, an average of 40 people, mostly Bangladeshis, were killed every year. The Guardian reported that almost 1000 had lost their lives on the border by 2011.
Bangladesh says that those killed are innocent villagers who might have strayed across the porous and very long border inadvertently, and that the BSF often enters Bangladesh to indulge in vengeful killing or even in “land grabbing”.
But the Indians say that the victims are typically cattle smugglers, currency racketeers and even Islamic terrorists who have links on both sides of the border.
According to Daily Mail of UK, about 3000 cows were smuggled across the Indo-Bangla border “every day” till recently. According to an estimate in the Christian Science Monitor Indo-Bangla cattle trade was valued at US$ 1 billion in its heyday. Daily Mail put it at a whopping US$ 5 billion a year.
While cow smuggling is totally banned by India, Indian cows are welcome in Bangladesh for beef, especially during Islamic festive seasons.
Fencing of the border, which is now half done, appears to have brought down cattle smuggling drastically. Smuggling of fake Indian currency by Islamic terror cells was a problem till demonetization of 85% Indian currency in circulation in late 2016.
The Guardian wrote: “Shockingly, some Indian officials endorse shooting people who attempt to cross the border illegally, even if they are unarmed. Almost as shocking is the lack of interest in these killings by foreign governments who claim to be concerned with human rights. A single killing by US law enforcement along the Mexican border makes headlines. The killing of large numbers of villagers by Indian forces has been almost entirely ignored.”
To control this, and also due to officially induced paranoia about Islamic terrorism, the BSF has been allowed to “shoot to kill”. Trigger happy BSF troopers have used this as a short cut to solve the problem. It does not matter to them if most of the victims are innocent as these are citizens of a weak country, which cannot retaliate.
The border guard organizations of the two countries meet periodically but little is achieved because the Indian side describes the victims as criminals and the Bangladeshi side insists that they are innocent.
Recent incidents: A Bangladeshi cattle trader was killed on March 2014 at the border near Satkhira Sadar Upazila by BSF. On January 2016, a Bangladeshi cattle trader was allegedly tortured to death by members BSF at Burungamari Upazila in Kurigram district. The same month, another Bangladesh national was killed by BSF in Sapahar Upazila in Naogaon District.
In April 2016 a Bangladeshi cattle trader was shot in Kurigram district. On June 2016, two Bangladeshis were killed by BSF in Gomostapur. A teenager was killed and three others were injured in BSF shooting in Chuadanga when they went to pick mangoes near the border on May 2016. The BSF suspended seven of its men following this incident.
However, human rights groups have issued strong statements against the killings. Casting India for its callousness, Brad Adams, Executive Director of the Asia Department of Human Right Watch said: “Routinely shooting poor, unarmed villagers is not how the world’s largest democracy should behave,” Adams said.
Commenting on the killings, The Guardian wrote: “Shockingly, some Indian officials endorse shooting people who attempt to cross the border illegally, even if they are unarmed. Almost as shocking is the lack of interest in these killings by foreign governments who claim to be concerned with human rights. A single killing by US law enforcement along the Mexican border makes headlines. The killing of large numbers of villagers by Indian forces has been almost entirely ignored.”
Some of the victims have been children. One father recounted how his sons were beaten by BSF officers. “The BSF personnel surrounded the boys and without giving any reason started beating them with rifle butts, kicking and slapping them. There were nine soldiers, and they beat my sons mercilessly. Even as the boys fell down, the BSF men continued to kick them ruthlessly in their chests and other sensitive organs,” The Guardian wrote in 2011.
“Under pressure, senior Indian officials have expressed revulsion at the behaviour of the BSF and have promised to send new orders to end the shoot-to-kill policy. They have committed to use nonviolent means to apprehend illegal border crossers or smugglers where they pose no risk to life.”
“The question is whether this will be translated into action on the ground. Similar promises of zero tolerance for abuses have been made in Kashmir and elsewhere but have not been fulfilled,” The Guardianwrote.
There has been a reduction in the killings, but this is due more to the fencing than any change of heart on the part of the BSF.
Human rights violations by Indian Border Security Force (BSF), 2007 – 2017
2017 Killed Injured
January 06 07
February 04 08
March 01 —
April 02 03
May 01 —
June 03 06
July 01 03
August — —
September 04 02
October — —
November — —
December — —
Total 41 32
2016 Killed Injured
January 02 03
February — —
March — —
April 01 —
May 02 03
June 03 02
July 03 —
August —
September 06 02
October 01 05
November — —
December 09 —
Total 27 15
2015 Killed Injured
January 02 05
February 02 04
March 02 02
April 09 05
May 01 —
June 01 02
July 02 02
August 02 06
September 01 04
October 02 04
November 03 —
December 02 05
Total 29 39
2014 Killed Injured
January 02 01
February — 03
March 03 08
April 05 08
May 01 02
June 02 02
July 01 03
August 01 03
September 03 07
October 07 01
November 03 02
December 02 02
Total 30 38
2013 Killed Injured
January 07 03
February 01 03
March 03 02
April 02 03
May 02 09
June 03 03
July — 03
August 02 07
September 01 03
October 03 11
November 01 02
December 02 03
Total 23 56
2012 Killed Injured
January 03 03
February 01 09
March 02 03
April 02 08
May 03 01
June 02 02
July 02 02
August 04 02
September 02 02
October 06 11
November — 02
December 04 02
Total 30 47
2011 Killed Injured
January 03 01
February 04 01
March 01 02
April 03 02
May 05 —
June 04 07
July — —
August 01 04
September — 03
October — 01
November 02 —
December 06 06
Total 29 27
2010 Killed Injured
January 10 05
February 05 15
March 05 30
April 01 02
May 03 02
June 05 03
July 05 02
August 05 03
September 02 02
October 04 03
November 05 02
December 04 03
Total 54 72
2009 Killed Injured
January 03 04
February 07 05
March 05 04
April 06 08
May 08 08
June 05 02
July 13 05
August 04 01
September 05 03
October 08 —
November 05 02
December 04 07
Total 73 49
2008 Killed Injured
January 08 05
February 17 04
March 04 02
April 04 06
May 03 05
June 05 03
July 10 06
August 04 03
September 02 02
October 02 —
November 05 02
December 01 02
Total 65 40
2007 Killed Injured
January 14 06
February 11 17
March 11 10
April 09 06
May 08 06
June 03 02
July 03 —
August 08 03
September 06 05
October 07 03
November 07 08
December 06 03
Total 93 69
https://southasianmonitor.com/2017/11/06/brutal-killings-unabated-indo-bangladesh-border/