The killing of Bangladeshi nationals along the India-Bangladesh border has been a longstanding sensitive issue. Concerns and worldwide attention have been raised for decades now due to the tragic deaths of civilians in cross-border firings. Failure to turn-down the use of lethal weapons in the India-Bangladesh border is providing ammunition to critics of a friend who has been sharing a widespread strategic friendship with Bangladesh.
A human rights organization reports that between 2000 and 2019, the BSF killed 1185 Bangladeshis at the India-Bangladesh border. Despite strong commitments from India of zero border killing in the year of 2020- 42 civilians, 16 in 2021, 23 in 2022 and at least 22 Bangladeshi nationals were shot dead by the BSF.
The border between Bangladesh and India is densely populated, with many people traveling back and forth to see families, do businesses, and to search for work. Numerous accusations of narcotic trades, smuggling, and cattle trafficking have surfaced, and history supports many of those claims. Indias Border Security Force (BSF) has been carrying out a shoot-to-kill policy even on unarmed civilians. Shockingly, numerous official statements acknowledged the killings of Bangladeshi civilians either for illegal trespass or drug trafficking along the border region. However, instead of arresting the suspect and handing them over to the police for prosecution in front of the court of law, it is hard to find out what on earth would justify killing innocent civilians based on those suspicions.
Under the basic principle of Use of Force and Firearms by the law enforcement officials, that enforcement officials may use force only when it is necessary and to the extent required for the performance of their duty(article 3). The Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Varenna emphasized, law enforcement personnel should safeguard human rights in proportion to their use of force and firearms. The basic principle sets out four key aspects where use of force and firearms is unavoidable and those are; the law enforcement official should (i) use force and act in a way that is proportionate to gravity of the offense and the desired outcome, (ii) Reduce damage and injury while respecting and protecting human life, (iii) Make sure that anyone who is hurt or impacted receives help and medical attention as soon as possible, and (iv)Make sure the injured or afflicted persons close friends or relatives are informed as soon as practical.
On January 7, 2011, while Felani, then 15 years old, was crossing barbed-wire barriers installed by India on her way home, the BSF on the Anantapur border under Phulbariupazila in Kurigram shot her to death. This caused a big outcry all over the world after her body was left hanging on the barbed wire fence for over four hours. Amiya Ghosh, a member of the BSF, was presumed to have killed the minor. He was put on trial twice in Indian courts but was found not guilty on both occasions. The recovery of a farmers dead body with muddy feet, dead civilian bodies, and the deceaseds belongings on their shoulders are all described in various reports.
In the case of "Railway Board & others v Chandrima Das & others, C.A. No. 639 of 2000" the Indian supreme court delivered a landmark judgment by which the right of a foreign national was established under the Indian constitution. The judgment sets out that, Even though the victim was not an Indian citizen, she was always entitled to all of the fundamental rights granted to citizens, including the "Right to Life", As a national of another country, she couldn be subjected to a treatment, which was below dignity, nor could she be subjected to physical violence. The right to life is protected by Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. The ruling in Lous De Raed v Union India (1991) 3 SSC 554 established that a foreign national is entitled to the same rights as domestic citizens concerning life and liberty.
There has been concern about whether security officers have the right to shoot someone even if it turns out that the person was acting ostensibly illegally but unarmed. Along with the derogation from the basic principle of Use of Force and Firearms Indian Border Security forces breached various international conventions and treaties by shooting presumably innocents. The preamble of the UDHR established, "freedom, justice, and peace in the world are based on the understanding that every member of the human family has inherent dignity and equal, inalienable rights".
According to Article 1 of the UDHR, "all humans are born free, equal, and endowed with dignity and rights. While Article 5 of the UDHR declared that no one shall be subjected to torture or cruel, brutal, or degrading treatment or punishment, Article 3 of the UDHR declared that everyone has the right to life, liberty, and personal security. There have been cases of reported death of minors in the border region due to the shoot-to-kill policy. There have been flagrant violations of the Convention on Child Rights (CRC) articles to which both Bangladesh and India are signatories of. According to Article 3 of the CRC, the childs best interests must always come first in every decision involving children, whether it is made by public or private social welfare organizations, courts of law, administrative agencies, or legislative bodies. Furthermore, as stated in Article 6 of the CRC, all states parties recognise that every child has an inherent right to life.
Despite the continuous assurance provided by the government of India to turn-down the use of firearms in the border region, civilians are still losing their lives fighting for their right to life, liberty, and personal security. Rather than using lethal weapons upon the alleged trespassers, India might simply prosecute them under its own laws. Indian laws, even the BSF Act itself, forbid the indiscriminate killing of individuals who cross borders unlawfully. These are gross violation of international human rights, treaties and conventions. On the other side of the moon, going beyond the so-called diplomatic dialogue the Bangladeshi government needs to find a permanent resolution to lessen the danger that its border region poses to its citizens.
Interestingly, this brings to mind the 1996 border agreement between India and China, which have prohibited the employment of deadly weapons within two kilometres of the actual border control line. If they can, why can we make this our top priority in order to protect our citizens lives? Furthermore, indiscriminate shooting upon unarmed Bangladeshis by the BSF should be stopped, ensuring adequate accountability within the BSF itself to preserve law and order as a whole.
The writer is currently studying PGD in Bar Vocational Studies at City University of London, UK
