Bangladeshi shot dead by BSF

A Bangladeshi man was shot dead by members of the Indian Border Security Forces (BSF) in Ranishankail upazila's Jagodal area on Monday afternoon.

The dead was identified as Babu, 18, son of Ekramul Haque, a resident of Haripur upazila's Maradhar village in the district.

Locals said members of the BSF in Kokradah camp opened fire on a group of Bangladeshi nationals around 4:00pm while they were returning to Bangladesh near border pillar number 374, leaving Babu dead on the spot. Babu had crossed the border without valid documents, they added.

Lt Col Tuhin Mohammad Masud, commander of BGB Thakurgaon-50 Battalion, said they were informed of the firing. "We called a flag meeting with the BSF on Tuesday," he said

On January 18, Jahangir Alam Raju , 21, son of Badsha Mia, a resident of Shahanabad village of the same upazila, was shot dead by the BSF inside Indian territory along Dharmagarh border.

Jahangir died on the spot while some others managed to flee.

On January 22, Jenarul, son of Tofail, from Taldangi village in the upazila, was shot dead by the BSF.

Although all the killings occurred on Indian soil and the victims were there illegally, it is doubtful that they posed any threat to the BSF jawans, who must perceive a threat to their own security before engaging their firearms in such situations.

After dropping to their lowest level in 2018 since records started being kept, the 3 killings in a span of just 10 days may represent an unwelcome reversal of that this year.

The BSF was termed "trigger happy" by Human Rights Watch in 2010, when border killings of Bangladeshis by the BSF were frequent. According to Odhikar, a platform of Dhaka-based human rights advocates, 74 Bangladeshis were killed in BSF firings that year. The number was 98 in 2009.

Last year, the number dropped to 11.