Bangladesh-India Border: Zero death pledge rings hollow

Killing along the Bangladesh-India border marked a gradual rise over the last three years despite repeated state-level commitments to bring such killings down to zero.

The trend continues this year as a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) member and another Bangladeshi were killed allegedly in BSF firings along the Jashore and Lalmonirhat borders in January.

Last year, 31 people were killed in BSF shootings, the highest since 2020 when 47 Bangladeshis were killed along the border, according to Ain O Shalish Kendra data compiled based on media reports.

The killing of BGB Sepoy Mohammad Roisuddin on January 22 this year sparked condemnation and protests across the border.

"This incident once again demonstrates the trigger-happy characteristics of the border guards of India; the BSF. The BSF authority cannot be given the right to behave as the executioner," said Kirity Roy, Secretary of Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), a rights organisation based in West Bengal.

In a statement issued three days after Roisuddin's killing, MASUM demanded a joint probe by the Indian and Bangladeshi human rights commissions, and called on the international rights organisations to raise voice against the "systematic killings" by BSF.

Dhaka is now hosting a five-day 54th director general (DG)-level border conference between Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to discuss a range of border security issues. The talks end today.

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 forces open fire in self-defence, although this has been rejected by rights bodies and victims' families who say that is not always the case.

ASK Executive Director Faruq Faisel called for a joint investigation to find out the actual cause of BSF shooting and take action to prevent recurrence of such killings.

He said such killings of Bangladesh nationals by the Indian border guards are uncalled for.

In 2022 and 2021, at least 23 and 18 Bangladeshi nationals were killed by BSF members, ASK data show.

At least 60 of the 73 Bangladeshis killed in the last three years since 2021 were shot while six were tortured to death, according to the rights body.

In a bilateral meeting on September 6, 2022, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi agreed to work towards bringing the number of "deaths due to incidents" down to zero.

At a DG-level meeting of BSF and BGB in New Delhi in March 2011, it was agreed that BSF will use non-lethal weapons, alongside the regular ones, at some border points on a trial basis.

A BGB press release issued at the time said India would use non-lethal weapons at the entire border area with Bangladesh if the trial proved successful.

Since then, at multiple top-level meetings of the two border forces, BSF agreed to use non-lethal weapons, but the killing on the border continues.

After a recent visit to India, Foreign Minister Hasan Mahmud on February 12 told journalists that Dhaka and Delhi agreed on the use of non-lethal weapons to stop border killings.

Five days after the briefing, Bangladeshi fisherman Jahangir Alam, 24, was shot in his right elbow and injured by BSF when he went near the Indian territory while fishing in Chapainawabganj on February 17, local BGB members said.

Earlier on January 28, Bangladesh citizen Rafiul Islam Tuklu was shot dead by BSF in Lalmonirhat's Patgram upazila after he entered India.

And after the death of BGB member Roisuddin, BGB and BSF gave contradictory comments.

BGB Jashore Battalion in its January 24 statement said a BGB patrol team intercepted some smugglers who entered Bangladesh from India with cattle around 5:30am on January 22.

The smugglers tried to flee as the BGB team chased them, and Sepoy Roisuddin got separated from his team in dense fog. Later, it was learnt that he was injured in BSF firing and was undergoing treatment at a hospital in India where he died, the statement reads.

AK Arya, public relations officer of south Bengal BSF, told The Daily Star recently that a BSF jawan opened fire in self-defence after a group of cattle traders attacked him. In the firing, a cattle trader who was wearing a lungi and T-shirt suffered wounds. He was taken to the hospital where he died. Later, BGB sent a photograph of its missing member who was found to be the man killed.

"From our side, the matter is still under investigation," he said by phone.

But Indian rights body MASUM in its statement said there is no evidence that Roisuddin attacked BSF personnel, and that his killing was not retaliatory in nature.

Asked about the continued border killing and India's commitment to bring it down to zero, AK Arya said, "BSF jawans use non-lethal weapons, but when criminals attack them, they use lethal weapons in self-defence."

Former foreign secretary Touhid Hossain said border killing is absolutely unexpected.

Referring to the killing of the BGB member, he said, "They [BSF] could have detained the BGB member, produce him before a court instead of taking the law in their own hand.

"I do not know whether there are any other borders in the world where such a huge number of people are killed. Even, borders of two feuding countries do not experience so many deaths."

Commander of Jashore Battalion of BGB Lt Col Ahmed Hasan Jamil declined to comment citing ongoing investigation.

BGB Director (operations) Lt Col AM Zahid Parvez, who handles the press, did not respond to our calls and text messages.

Approached, Md Mustafizur Rahman, senior secretary of public security division of the home ministry, advised The Daily Star to speak to Mohammad Mukhlesur Rahman Sarker, an additional secretary (ansar and border wing).

Contacted, Mukhlesur said he is not the right person and asked this correspondent to speak to AKM Tipu Sultan, also an additional secretary (political and ICT wing). Tipu Sultan declined to comment saying he is not the right person to speak on the matter.

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan did not pick up the phone despite repeated attempts.