BGB-BSF Talks
Dhaka vents concern over killing by BSF
Dhaka has expressed its deep concern over continued killing, torture and abduction of unarmed Bangladeshi civilians on borders by BSF and Indian nationals.
The concern was expressed at the four-day director general-level talks between the two border forces that began in the capital on Wednesday.
Dhaka has also expressed their worry about using ‘bomb-like substance’ and harmful gas used by Border Security Force against Bangladeshi civilians in the frontiers, the Border Guard Bangladesh officials told New Age after attending the conference at the Peelkhana headquarters.
The Bangladesh pressed for bringing down the incidents to zero level by any means.
The BGB director general, Major General Anwar Hussain, was leading a 25-member team while the BSF director general, Uthan Kumar Bangshal, was leading a 23-member Indian team at the conference which will end through the signing of a joint record of discussions on September 29.
The DG-level meeting takes place twice a year, alternately in Dhaka and New Delhi. The last meeting was held in New Delhi in March.
The Indian side in the talks claimed only six people were killed in 500 fire incidents in the last six months. The Indian delegation, however, regretted those killing.
But, at least 15 unarmed Bangladeshi citizens were killed by BSF between April
and August, said Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights group.
On Monday, Bangladesh national Hossain Ali, 40, was shot dead by the BSF on Enayetpur border in Birol upazila in Dinajpur.
At least 1,026 Bangladeshis were killed, 1,063 injured, 999 abducted and 23 raped allegedly by the Indian border guards and their nationals between January 1, 2000 and June 30, 2012, said Odhikar.
The BGB official said, ‘Incidents of killing and rights violation seemingly decreased in terms of statistics….and we did not accept the number given by them. ’
The Indian official, however, assured that they would work together to reduce human casualties in the border.
A BGB official told New Age said they had raised the issues of border killing, torture and abduction at the talks as BSF and Indian nationals continued killing and torturing Bangladeshi nationals despite their repeated assurance to stop such practices.
Five Indian states – West Bengal, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Assam and Tripura – share 4,165 kilometres of border with Bangladesh.
The BGB delegation includes sector commanders and officials of the BGB headquarters, ministries of home and foreign affairs, national security intelligence land records and survey and the joint river commission.
The BSF delegation includes senior officials of the BSF headquarters, six frontier inspectors general and officials of the home and the foreign ministries.
The two sides discussed ways to stop killing in the frontiers, ‘illegal infiltration’ and smuggling of drugs in line with the coordinated border management plan, which was signed on July 30, 2011.
‘Our discussion was fruitful,’ BGB headquarters official Lieutenant Colonel Abu Bakar Abu told New Age.
Courtesy of New Age
