KOLKATA, JAN 18: West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed deep anguish and indignation at the Border Security Force (BSF)s wanton firings on the Indo-Bangladesh border. In a scathing criticism of the BSFs role on the border, she warned that her government had taken strong exception to the trigger-happy actions of the Indian border guard personnel.
It is reported that she lodged a written protest note to the federal home ministry about the recent firing incident at Hili in Dakshin Dinajpur on 2 January when an Indian was reported to have been killed in BSF firings. She also drew attention of the central home ministry to the 16 killings in BSF firings during last six months. She reportedly asked the concerned home ministry authorities to take appropriate steps to stop this type of firings on the border by the BSF.
Giving this information to newsmen at the Writers Buildings on Thursday, the state home department secretary Basudeb Banerjee said that the chief ministers protest letter on BSF firings was forwarded to the central home ministry recently. Refusing to part with a copy of the letter, he said that the state government was in touch with the authorities of the BSF (South Bengal) for the redressal of the chief ministers grievances on the BSF role on the border.
He however declined to elaborate further the tenor and content of discussion with the BSF high-ups. Meanwhile, the additional director general of the BSF (South Bengal) B D Sharma asserted that faced with joint attacks of Indian and Bangladeshi criminals mainly cattle-smugglers on the border, the BSF was generally forced to resort to firings as self defense measures. Giving statistics, he said that during last six months, altogether 26 smugglers 13 Indians and 13 Bangladeshis lost lives during midnight firings.
At the same time, he claimed that smugglers killed 2 BSF jawans and injured 201 officers and jawans during this period. Sharma explained the modus operandi of BSF
action on the border while dealing with cross-border criminal activities.
He explained that before resorting to firings, BSF first applied stun gun, and the lob tear-gas shells and pump-action gun to disperse the law-breakers on the border. If all these measures failed to disperse the attacking smugglers, BSF then felt compelled to open fire. The BSF ADG also asserted that because of restraint on the part of BSF, the border firings were reduced substantially in 2012 (26 dead in firings) in comparison to over 100
in 2011.
He disclosed that in a recent bi-partite meeting with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), it was agreed that in dealing with border criminals, non-lethal weapons would be used. Queried about the displeasures of the state chief minister, he said that they had sought an appointment with the CM to explain the BSF stand on the issue.
Mamata takes umbrage against BSF killings on Indo-Bangla border
