‘Bangladeshis killed on border were criminals’

Director General (DG) of India's Border Security Force Pankaj Kumar Singh yesterday justified border killings, saying all Bangladeshis killed on the border were criminals.

Lethal force is used on people who are on the criminals' list, which is exchanged beforehand between BSF and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). When these people overpower BSF officers, lethal weapons are used.

The BSF chief was responding to queries at a joint press conference, following a DG-level conference between BSF and BGB at the latter's Pilkhana headquarters in Dhaka.

Killings on the border are continuing, despite BSF making commitments after every talk to bring deaths to zero. Noted rights activist Nur Khan Liton said it is an ill attempt by BSF to evade its crimes by grossly terming those killed on the border as "criminals".

Past incidents show that Bangladeshis who crossed the border due to them not having a clear idea about the territory were also killed, he said.

He said if crossing the border is an offence, the offenders can be detained or arrested.

According to rights body Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), five people were shot dead on the border by BSF this year till June, while the number of deaths last year was 18.

At the press conference, the BSF DG said incidents like smuggling, human trafficking and illegal entry are happening because of "bad people on both sides of the border".

He also said they mainly use non-lethal weapons to prevent fatalities, and 89 BSF personnel were seriously injured in attacks by criminals on the border.

He, however, said both BGB and BSF are jointly working to control border crimes and bring killings to zero.

"BSF as well as BGB are absolutely professional border guarding forces. We uphold the best traditions of human rights whenever we are guarding the border," he added.

Director General of BGB Maj Gen Shakil Ahmed said at least 212 Myanmar nationals from 51 families illegally entered Bangladesh from India recently.

Besides, some others may have also entered through remote border areas, he said while replying to a query at the conference.

The BGB chief said both sides during the talks discussed the issue and decided to take a firm stance to prevent illegal entry from India.

He sought cooperation from BSF to curb various types of smuggling, human trafficking, inadvertent border crossing and terrorism.

To curb these menaces, both sides agreed to share real time information, and show zero tolerance towards any transborder insurgent group.