India yesterday announced to equip its Border Security Force (BSF) with non-lethal weapons in order to stop killing of unarmed Bangladeshis along its border.The BSF jawans will carry the non-lethal arms in addition to the regular ones, BSF Director General Raman Srivastava said. However, he denied elaborating about non-lethal arms.
He was addressing a joint press conference with the Director General of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam after conclusion of 5-day annual talks between the border guard forces here.
Initially the non-lethal weapons will be used in certain designated points along India-Bangladesh border on an experimental basis. “If this succeeds in bringing down the number of fatalities, we will expand it further to cover the entire border,” he added.
A joint statement issued after the meeting said, “On the issue of death of Bangladeshi nationals, both the sides agreed to take steps to reduce such incidents due to firing along the border.” “We want BSF to follow the rules of engagement by arresting and handing over to us any trespasser or anybody else involved in cross-border crime,” said Maj Gen Rafiqul Islam, head of the 20-member BGB delegation.
He pointed out that movement of people across the border has been a 'complex' issue since the partition of the Indian sub-continent but firing is not a solution to it. The BSF DG assured his counterpart of showing utmost restraint while dealing with cross-border crimes.
Appreciating BSF's stand, Maj Gen Rafiqul said there has been not a single incident of killing in BSF firing since January 7 this year, after the killing of 15-year-old Felani on Kurigram border.
The two countries have no option but to go for tough action against drug trafficking and illegal movement of people across the border, observed the BGB chief. Bangladesh will get 24-hour access to Tin Bigha corridor which connects Dahagram and Angarpota enclaves in India with the mainland, he added.
Srivastava said the BGB delegation has assured India of taking effective steps to ensure there is no illegal movement along the border. Referring to a controversy over building structures on Indian side within 150 yards of the border, the BSF chief said Bangladesh has agreed to allow India to undertake development work like construction of roads, culverts and bridges in the area with prior information.
“We will provide advance information to BGB on our developmental work and if they have any objection, we will sort those out. We will go ahead only if there is no objection,” mentioned the BSF DG. During the meeting the BGB team handed over to India a list of criminals and anti-Bangladeshi persons, including those of Bangabhumi movement and persons smuggling phensedyl syrup.
The Indian side also supplied Bangladesh with their list of miscreants involved in human trafficking and those helping passing of counterfeit Indian currency through Bangladesh from other countries. Replying to a question if the BGB's list contained the name of Risaldar Moslehuddin, an absconding killer of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, Rafiqul said his name was in a list handed over at home secretary-level talks in Dhaka sometime ago.
Both the sides agreed on major aspects of joint border management which awaits approval by the government of Bangladesh.
The two border forces have decided to enhance interaction between them through more field-level meetings and weekly sector commander-level contacts, said Srivastava. In an apparent reference to arrest of several ULFA leaders last year, he said India has noted with appreciation the help from Bangladesh in bringing Indian insurgents to justice.
In another decision to boost the confidence of the two border guard forces, the BGB and BSF have decided to arrange a joint retreat ceremony on Benapole-Petrapole border.
Modalities of the joint retreat were being worked out and it is expected to begin in a couple of months, noted the BSF chief.
A similar event is held every day on the India-Pakistan border at Attari, close to the Sikh's holy town of Amritsar in the northern Indian state of Punjab.
As part of the ceremony, national flags are lowered and national anthems are played by smartly uniformed border guards at sunset every day.
According to Srivastava, Bangladesh has accepted a BSF proposal to send BGB officers for training at BSF facilities and the first team would be sent soon.
While Srivastava described the just-concluded BSF-BGB talks as the “most cordial till date,” Maj Gen Rafiqul said the Delhi meeting was “much better” than the previous DG-level talks in Dhaka last year.
News Source: The Daily Star