A Bloody Border: Crimes of BSF

Saleh Mahmud Tanim

Rodaba Jaman

Date Published: 30 Aug 2024

The 4,096-kilometer border between Bangladesh and India, one of the longest in the world, has been a source of tension despite the nations’ close ties. Issues like territorial disputes, illegal activities, and economic disparities have fueled conflicts. The border has seen skirmishes, human rights violations, and tragic incidents like the killing of civilians. Although diplomatic efforts and agreements have been made to improve border management, maintaining peace along this complex and porous border remains challenging.

Border War, 2001

On 18th April, 2001, a skirmish occurred between the Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Bangladesh Rifles (now known as the Border Guard Bangladesh or BGB) in Sylhet, stemming from the illegal occupation of a Bangladeshi enclave and border incursions. After the Liberation War, the BSF had illegally occupied the Bangladeshi enclave of Padua village, which prompted a force of 1,000 BDR soldiers to launch an operation to reclaim it. In retaliation for the reclamation of the illegally occupied village, the BSF attempted to make an incursion along the Kurigram border. In response, the BDR opened fire, leading to a skirmish. The clash resulted in the deaths of 16 Indian border guards and the injury of two others, while three BDR soldiers were killed and five were injured.

Border Encroachment

In recent days, BGB started to counter the dominance of BSF. At the Haripara border in Lalmonirhat’s Patgram Upazila, tensions escalated when the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) attempted to build a barbed wire fence close to the zero line. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) intervened, halting the construction, as International Law prohibits building within 150 yards of the border. Both forces increased their presence in the area, and the situation led to a flag meeting between the two sides, after which the construction was suspended. The BGB is now closely monitoring the border to ensure local safety. Moreover, in Parshuram, Feni, BSF tried to open another dum in mid August illegally, which would cause suffering for the people in Bangladesh. The BGB strongly condemned it and took necessary steps so that the incident does not take place.

Now the Indian media is broadcasting misinformation highlighting BGB as cruel and irrational glorifying BSF. They are trying to show that due to the abdication of Ex Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, many locals are trying to leave Bangladesh for what BSF needed to be strong at the borders. But the reality is clear enough.

Felani Killing

For four and a half agonizing hours, Felani, a 14-year-old girl, was left hanging from a barbed wire fence, her vibrant life slowly slipping away. Her father watched helplessly, and even after 13 years, justice has yet to be served. The trial for this heinous crime began two and a half years later in India’s General Security Forces Court. In the following month, BSF soldier Amiya Ghosh, the accused, was acquitted. Felani’s father, dissatisfied with the verdict, demanded a retrial, leading to the case being reopened in 2014. However, Amiya Ghosh was acquitted once again the following year. Subsequently, an Indian human rights organization filed a petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of Felani’s father, but the case has seen nothing but delays. Justice remains unresolved, hanging in uncertainty… This incident remains a poignant symbol of the human cost of border conflicts and the challenges in achieving accountability. In 2015, the National Human Rights commission of India suggested the government pay INR 500,000 to the family. But what do you think? Life of an innocent child costs only INR 500,000?

BSF’s Atrocities at the Border

Apart from rape, abduction, smuggling etc in the border areas, there are different issues too. In Bangladesh, Indian cattle can be legally imported through a minor tax payment to the government, despite a complete ban on cattle exports from India. This issue has become a major point of tension at the border. The cattle trade is estimated to be worth nearly one billion dollars, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The conflict over this trade has led to several violent incidents involving the Border Security Force (BSF) of India.

In March 2014, a Bangladeshi cattle smuggler was killed by the BSF near Satkhira Sadar Upazila. In January 2016, another Bangladeshi smuggler reportedly died under torture by the BSF in Bhurungamari Upazila, Kurigram District. That same month, a different Bangladeshi national was also killed by the BSF in Sapahar Upazila, Naogaon District. Later in April 2016, a Bangladeshi cattle trader was shot by the BSF in Kurigram District. The violence continued in June 2016 when two Bangladeshi smugglers were killed by the BSF in Gomostapur Upazila, Chapainawabganj. In August 2016, a Bangladeshi smuggler was shot dead in Moheshpur Upazila, Jhenidah. In January 2017, another smuggler was reportedly tortured to death by the BSF in Damurhuda Upazila, Chuadanga District.

In Naogaon, April 27, 2019 Azim Uddin, a 20 years old young man was identified as a victim of cruelty preceded by BSF, they removed his nails and fingers. It happened in the Patari Border, he along with other traders went to India to make a deal on their cattle trading. After a lot of inhumane torture including extracting nails after being detained, they abandoned him at the zero point of Purnavora river. A BGB battalion found him unconscious, luckily he was alive.

Torture on the women as a vulnerable group of society seems very common in the border ares. BSF has shown their true faces several times. A 30-year-old Bangladeshi woman has accused a sub-inspector from India’s Border Security Force (BSF) of raping her at a BSF camp in North 24 Parganas, West Bengal. The woman and a friend, who were attempting to illegally cross into Bangladesh, were detained by BSF personnel. The sub-inspector, Rameswar Kayal, allegedly raped her during an interrogation at the camp. Following the incident, she reported the assault to the police, leading to Kayal’s arrest. He has been charged under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code and remanded into custody. But it seems very pitiful that a strong and responsible border security team is attempting such crimes. From 1972 to 2023, the Bangladesh-India border has witnessed numerous incidents of violence and abuse by the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) against Bangladeshi citizens. Over this period, 1,923 Bangladeshis have been killed, while 1,206 have been injured by gunfire. Additionally, there have been 1,408 cases of abduction, 111 people reported missing, and 16 instances of rape. The border has also seen 157 incidents of banditry, and one Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) soldier has been killed during this time, stated by Human Rights Organization Odhikar.

You might have asked, it is not always the BGB who suffers, sometimes the BSF also gets shotted. We will not disapprove of it, but what’s the ratio? Then again, sometimes the BGB have no other ways than killing in the sake of saving their own lives. In 2019, BGB detained an Indian fisherman who came illegally. In response four BSF members shot-fired to release him. Seeing no other way, on the purpose of self defense BGB shots too. One BSF died in that incident. Later the situation was normalized through a meeting.

To clear the ratio, we can just see how many people were the victims in the first half of the year 2020. Odhikar, a Bangladesh-based human rights group, released a report on Monday where it also stated that the BSF injured 17 and abducted another three Bangladeshi citizens.

“[A total of] 45 Bangladeshi nationals have been victimized by the neighboring border force between January and June, 2020” – Odhikar

Even in 2024, the killings were not stopped. Roisudddin, a member of 49th Border Guard Battalion in Benapole, Jashore, a prime border between these two countries, was killed by BSF and announced to be dead at an Indian hospital. Even after that, the BSF delayed handing over the dead body.

In recent days, BGB started to counter the dominance of BSF. At the Haripara border in Lalmonirhat’s Patgram Upazila, tensions escalated when the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) attempted to build a barbed wire fence close to the zero line. The Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) intervened, halting the construction, as international law prohibits building within 150 yards of the border. Both forces increased their presence in the area, and the situation led to a flag meeting between the two sides, after which the construction was suspended. The BGB is now closely monitoring the border to ensure local safety. Moreover, in Parshuram, Feni, BSF tried to open another dum in mid August, which would cause suffering for the people in Bangladesh. The BGB strongly condemned it and took necessary steps so that the incident does not take place. Even in mid August, BGB refused to return 5 BSF members who entered our country illegally. But later Indian media took sympathy showing this fact. But BGB had to do this to prove that they have a spine.

Indian media still broadcasts some misinformation highlighting BGB as cruel and irrational glorifying BSF. They are trying to show that due to the leaving of Ex Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, many locals are trying to leave Bangladesh for what BSF needed to be strong at the borders. But the reality is clear enough. Their media are spreading news that BSF is humane but helpless and that they cannot help thousands of people who are trying to enter India, as Bangladesh is unsafe. The tension between BGB and BSF is shown in a very politicized way in the mainstream Indian medias