By TON Bangladesh

We are outraged and strongly protest the killings of Bangladeshi citizens by Border Security Force (BSF) of India. As Ain O Shalish Kendra, 39 Bangladeshis were killed by BSF in 2011, while Odhikar puts the number at 3.
A few days back, BSF men cruelly tortured a Bangladeshi citizen in Murshidabad of Pashchimbanga which was revealed in a video footage.
It cannot go on like this; it is unfathomable why our government is incapable to stop these killings.
Seemingly, it has become a favorite pastime for BSF, an opportunity to practice their marksmanship on innocent Bangladeshis. It is the most hateful act and our government must take urgent steps to stop border killings.
We can easily imagine how India would have reacted if an Indian national had been murdered by BGB. Our government must shake off this modest attitude and act promptly to stop killing of our people at the borders by BSF. We should be firm in upholding our rights.

Indian and Bangladeshi nongovernmental organizations have reported that the BSF is continuing to commit abuses, including extrajudicial murders, torture, and ill-treatment of both Indian and Bangladeshi border peoples. Indian border guards, deployed to stop cattle rustling, smuggling, and illegal crossings, say they use force only when they come under attack.


The Indian government has issued public orders to exercise restraint and end illegal killings, and made promises to Bangladesh, including during talks in December 2020. Though, the Bangladeshi group Odhikar alleged that the border forces have murdered at least 334 Bangladeshis since 2011 and committed other instances of severe abuse, including 51 killings in 2020.

Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), an Indian organization that has explored at least 105 alleged killings by BSF in the border areas in West Bengal state since 2011, said that the real number of killings is most likely higher. MASUM also reported that BSF soldiers have randomly detained and tortured suspects and harassed and threatened Indian residents in the border area. Recent claims of shooting deaths include:

MASUM stated to the National Human Rights Commission of India that on November 18, 2020, BSF soldiers beat and shot to death Samser Pramanik, 16, in Cooch Behar district in West Bengal state for alleged cross-border cattle smuggling. The soldiers allegedly detained Pramanik before he was trying to take cattle across the border, beat him with bamboo sticks and rifle butts till he fell unconscious, and then shot him in the chest and left him at the border fence. The Haldibari police station filed an unnatural death case, however so far has failed to take further action.

On August 9, 2020, a BSF soldier allegedly shot and murdered Sahinur Haque, 23, in Cooch Behar district, MASUM reported. At about 7 p.m., a rubber pellet fired by BSF staffs hit Haque while he was playing games on his cellphone with his brother and cousin in front of his house. A soldier then allegedly beat and shot him. The police filed a case of unnatural death.

The news media reported that on April 19, 2020, a BSF soldier murdered a 16-year-old Bangladeshi boy, Shimon Roy, in Thakurgaon district in Bangladesh. His father, a schoolteacher, said he and his son were building a barrier around their jute field while a BSF soldier entered inside Bangladesh land and told them to leave the place. When they protested, saying they were on their land, the soldier allegedly shot the boy in the abdomen.

On July 4, 2020, BSF soldiers allegedly shot a 50-year-old Bangladeshi man in Chapai Nawabganj district. A local lawmaker said that afterward the man went to the area to cut grass for livestock and unintentionally crossed the border, BSF staffs allegedly killed him and moved his body back into Bangladesh land.

Efforts by local residents and activists to file complaints and secure justice have caused in threats and intimidation. MASUM activists say they face routine harassment from police and the BSF, including random detention and fabricated criminal charges.

The India-Bangladesh border is heavily populated, with big numbers of people moving back and forth to visit relatives, purchase goods, and seek jobs. Some engage in petty and serious cross-border crime. Though, instead of arresting suspects and handing them over to the police for prosecution, BSF soldiers are often implicated in beating and torturing suspects. Some border guards are reportedly also involved in facilitating cattle smuggling or human trafficking, and target people who resist extortion attempts.

Bangladesh has repeatedly protested abuses at the border. In August, the Bangladesh Foreign Ministry raised concerns over the border murders, stating, “Bangladesh flagged that this is in violation of all bilateral contracts and that the Indian Border Security Force must be duly urged to exercise maximum restraint.”

Human Rights Watch knows of no cases in which Indian authorities have held BSF soldiers liable for abuses committed along the India-Bangladesh border. This includes the extremely publicized case of 15-year-old Felani Khatun, a Bangladeshi girl who was stuck in wire fencing at the border afterward the BSF shot her in January 2011. Two rounds of trials in special BSF courts, in 2013 and 2015, acquitted the BSF constable accused of shooting her. A plea for a new investigation in the case is now pending in India’s Supreme Court.

The Indian government must comply with the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, Human Rights Watch said. The principles only permit the use of lethal force when absolutely essential to protect lives. Given the failure of the BSF’s internal justice system to prosecute its members for human rights abuses, civilian authorities should inspect personnel of all ranks implicated in serious rights abuses and try them in civilian courts.