While addressing senior BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) officials at the force's headquarters at Dhaka's Pilkhana - Home Affairs Adviser Lt Gen (Retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury instructed BGB high-ups to refrain from all corrupt practices while face whatever adversaries with courage in protecting our borders. In addition, he also specifically mentioned name of Felani Khatun, the 10 year old girl mercilessly shot and hanged on barbed wires by Indian Border Security Forces in 2011, and firmly instructed of preventing repetition of such cruelty with a firm hand.
We are in full agreement with the home adviser's call and expect our BGB members to operate with maximum degree of accountability, courage and patriotism protecting our territorial integrity and combating corruption.
However, following collapse of Sheikh Hasina Government in august 5 our borders have frequently become tensed due to rampant smuggling, fleeing of corrupt Awami League leaders, BSF's unstoppable shooting and mounting geopolitical tension.
In particular, BSF's insensible killing of a teenager Bangladeshi girl on the night of September 2 amid domestic and cross-border political tensions has shocked us. The victim, Swarna Das, daughter of Parendra Das of Kalnigarh village in Westjuri union, was a student of class eight of Nirod Bihari High School in the upazila. The victim's father said that Swarna along with her mother was crossing the shared Lalarchak border with India to visit her eldest brother when she was shot.
Our Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday lodged a formal protest in relation with killing of the teenager girl.
The point, however, there are numerable methods and deterrents to address illegal border crossings, shooting an innocent teenager to death is no solution. It is just another naked display of barbarity.
Over the years we have repeatedly penned editorials while urging Indian Border Security forces to stop and avoid rampant shooting at our citizens living in border areas. Our numerable plea only fell in deaf ears.
Needs be mentioned, the death statistics along our shared border with India goes beyond horror. According to multiple news reports and reliable sources between 2009 and 2020, at least 522 Bangladeshis lost their lives due to cross-border shooting incidents. The renowned Human Rights organization, Odhikar, earlier had reported that at least 1,236 Bangladeshis were killed and 1,145 injured in shootings by the Indian border force between 2000 and 2020. And the situation hadn't improved in the last 4 years or so.
The horrible reality somewhat compel us to question - apart from Bangladesh, India shares common border with 5 other countries in the region , why is the shooting and killing ratio so alarmingly higher along our shared borders?
It is time the Indian BSF asks the same question pointing fingers at themselves.
