Indian BSF killed 294 Bangladeshis in one decade: Home Minister

Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has killed a total of 294 Bangladeshis along the border in the last 10 years, according to statistics placed by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan in Parliament on Thursday.

He presented the statistics replying to a scripted question from opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) law maker, or Member of Parliament (MP), Md Harunur Rashid (Chapainawabganj-3).

As per the data, the highest number of 66 Bangladeshis was killed in 2009 while the lowest number of three in 2018 in border areas, reports United News of Bangladesh.

However, the border killing data published by the rights groups is several times higher than the data home minister placed before the parliament.

According to local rights body Odhikar, over 1,100 Bangladeshis were killed along the border from 2000 to 2018.  

Meanwhile, the last year’s (2018) figure of border killing published by rights body is also more than the government records.

Rights group Ain o Salish Kendra said at least 15 Bangladeshis were killed on the border last year.

The Home Minister told the House that the Border Guard of Bangladesh (BGB) is making all-out efforts to stop the border killings by BSF. “The government is also taking necessary measures at diplomatic level in this regard.”

Stating that BSF has agreed to bring down the border killing to a zero level, he said the killing of Bangladeshis by BSF has declined largely compared to the last year.

According to the statistics placed by the minister, at least 66 Bangladeshi nationals were killed along the Bangladesh-India border in 2009, 55 in 2010, 24 each in 2011 and 2012, 18 in 2013, 24 in 2014, 38 in 2015, 25 in 2016, 17 in 2017 and only three in 2018.

Responding to another question by treasury bench MP Ashim Kumar Ukil (Netrokona-3), the minister said BGB has taken various steps for confidence building among people living in border areas and the border guards of the two countries. “It’s helping ease tension along the border.”

Besides, he said BGB has identified 328 kilometers as “sensitive areas” for setting up surveillance system in the border areas. “Modern cameras and surveillance system will be set up gradually in those sensitive areas.”

Replying to another query by BNP MP Harunur Rashid, the minister said 1,19,187 cases were filed against 1,61, 323 drug peddlers in 2018.

Kamruzzaman