Dear Friends,
The AHRC has received the following information from its partner organization MASUM in West Bengal. A man, about 21 years of age, was allegedly forcibly picked up by Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) personnel. He was on Indian land, on his farm near the Indo-Bangladesh border.
CASE NARRATIVE:
The victim, Manojit Mondal, aged 21 years, is a migrant labourer residing in Char Munshipara village in West Bengal. On 7.4.2016, he was working on his land located close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Before entering his farm, he deposited his voter identity card at Char Rajanagar Border Security Force(BSF) Border Out-Post (BOP) no.5. His name was also entered at serial no.75 in the record book at Char Rajanagar BSF Border Out-Post (BOP) no.5. Between 11 am and 12 pm, as he was working on his farm, two BGB personnel came and forcibly took him away to Bangladesh.
A fact-finding exercise conducted by MASUM revealed that several persons witnessed the incident. Mr. Biswanath Mondal, one of the witnesses informed the victim’s father, Mr.Balai Mondal who immediately went and informed the Assistant Commandant of BSF and the on-duty BSF personnel at Char Rajanagar BSF Border Out-Post no.5. He pleaded for their immediate intervention to rescue his son. But it is alleged that his pleas fell on deaf ears and the BSF personnel did not make any attempt to rescue the victim.
After waiting in vain for a few days for help from the BSF, he submitted a written complaint on 12.4.2016 before the Officer-in-Charge of the Raninagar Police Station, giving him full details of the abduction of his son by BGB personnel. His complaint was received and recorded in the GDE book vide Raninagar Police Station GDE no.492 dated 12.04.2016. He alleges that although the complaint contained information of a cognizable offence, the police did not treat it as a First Information Report(FIR).
In addition, Mr. Balai Mondal also submitted a written complaint before the Block Development Officer, Raninagar-II Block in expectation of appropriate action from the administration.
The victim’s father stated that both the police and administration have not made any enquiry into the matter up until this time. He has not received any response regarding the complaints he has lodged. He further says that he heard that his son i.e. the victim is currently detained in a jail in Bangladesh.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
This region is no stranger to the violence and arbitrary action of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, evidenced by the information received by MASUM. In this case, as the abduction was allegedly done by the Bangladesh Border Guard staff, the issue is complicated. It will require the intervention of authorities at the Centre. According to MASUM, the reason for this incident is because it took place close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Due to the posting of the BSF far inside Indian Territory and far from the actual border, it has ‘left a vast area of land near the Indo-Bangladesh border unprotected’. In a news report, the BGB have denied kidnapping any Indian national. Another reported incident is the killing of an Indian national by BGB personnel near the Tripura border in 2012. Incidents such as these require the close co-operation of BGB with the BSF forces. Also, a better understanding is needed between the governments of the two countries regarding abductions of its citizens and immediate action to be undertaken for the release of victims. In order to prevent such incidents in the future, it is imperative that the role of BSF personnel and their alleged inaction and inability to protect Indian citizens at the border, be investigated.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
In this case, the hapless young boy was kidnapped and is allegedly being held in a jail in Bangladesh. Please write letters to the following authorities calling on them to take the necessary action in order to secure his release.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights of migrants.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear _________,
INDIA: Young migrant labourer allegedly abducted by Bangladesh Border Guard on Indian territory near the Indo-Bangladesh border
Name of victim: Manojit Mondal (21)
Names of alleged perpetrators: Bangladesh Border Guard and Border Security Force personnel
Place of incident: Raninagar, District- Murshidabad, West Bengal
I am writing to you to voice my deep concern about the alleged abduction and detention of a young boy, while on Indian land, by the Bangladesh Border Guard near the Indo-Bangladesh border. There was no action on the part of BSF personnel who were unable to protect him.
The victim, Manojit Mondal, aged 21 years, is a migrant labourer residing in Char Munshipara village in West Bengal. On 7.4.2016, he was working on his farm that is located close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Before starting work, he deposited his voter identity card at Char Rajanagar BSF Border Out-Post (BOP) no.5. His name was also entered at serial no.75 in the record book at Char Rajanagar BSF Border Out-Post (BOP) no.5. Between 11 am and 12 pm, while working on his farm, two BGB personnel came on to his land and forcibly took him away to Bangladesh.
A fact-finding exercise conducted by MASUM, a prominent human rights organization working in the region, revealed that several persons witnessed the incident. Mr. Biswanath Mondal, one of the witnesses informed the victim’s father, Mr.Balai Mondal who immediately went out and informed the Assistant Commandant of BSF and the on-duty BSF personnel at Char Rajanagar BSF Border Out-Post no.5. He pleaded for their immediate intervention to rescue his son. It is alleged that his pleas fell on deaf ears. BSF personnel did not make any attempt to rescue the victim.
After waiting in vain for a few days for help from the BSF, he submitted a written complaint on 12.4.2016 before the Officer-in-Charge of the Raninagar Police Station, giving him full details of his son’s abduction by BGB personnel. His complaint was received and recorded in the GDE book vide Raninagar Police Station GDE no.492 dated 12.04.2016. Although the complaint contained information of a cognizable offence the police did not treat it as a First Information Report.
Apart from this, Mr. Balai Mondal also submitted a written complaint before the Block Development Officer, Raninagar-II Block in expectation of appropriate action from the administration.
The victim’s father stated that both the police and the administration have not made any enquiry into the matter until now. He has not received any response regarding the complaints he has submitted. He also said that he heard that his son, i.e. the victim in this case, is currently detained in a jail in Bangladesh.
I have learned that the region is no stranger to the violence and arbitrary action of Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, evidenced by the information received by MASUM. In this case, as the abduction was allegedly done by the Bangladesh Border Guard staff, the issue is complicated. It will require the intervention of authorities at the Centre. According to MASUM, the reason for this incident is because it took place close to the Indo-Bangladesh border. Due to the posting of the BSF far inside Indian Territory and far from the actual border, it has ‘left a vast area of land near the Indo-Bangladesh border unprotected’. Incidents such as these require the close co-operation of BGB with the BSF forces. Also, a better understanding is needed between the governments of the two countries regarding abductions of its citizens and immediate action to be undertaken for the release of victims. In order to prevent such incidents in the future, it is imperative that the role of BSF personnel and their alleged inaction and inability to protect Indian citizens at the border, be investigated.
I hope that much-needed attention is brought to this grave human rights abuse. I further hope that the authorities are pressured to take action to secure the release of the victim. Therefore, I hereby request you to:
• Order an independent enquiry into the matter.
• Direct the concerned authorities to take immediate action to register an FIR on the basis of the complaints that were submitted by the victim’s father before the police and the district administration.
• Direct the concerned authorities, namely the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Indian High Commission of Bangladesh, to take immediate action so that the victim can return home safely
• Direct the concerned authorities, including BSF, to adopt adequate measures to ensure the safety of the lives and livelihood of those people cultivating lands close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.
• Direct adequate compensation be paid to the families of the victims
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Justice H.L.Dattu, Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission
Manav Adhikar Bhawan
Block-C, G.P.O. Complex, INA
New Delhi-110023
Email: cr.nhrc@nic.in
2. Shri Rajnath Singh
Minister of Home Affairs
Room no 104, North Block, Central Secretariat
New Delhi – 110001
INDIA
Tel: +9111 23092462
Fax: +9111 23094221
Email: jscpg-mha@nic.in
3. Smt. Sushma Swaraj
Minister of External Affairs
South Block, Cabinet Secretariat,
Raisina Hill, New Delhi, 110 011
Tel: 23011127, 23011165
Email: eam@mea.gov.in
4. KK Sharma
Director General
Border Security Force (BSF)
HQr DG BSF, Block No. 10
CGO Complex, Lodhi Road,
New Delhi-110003
Tel: 011-24364851
Email: edpdte@bsf.nic.in
5. Shri. Ramesh Prasad Singh
Spl. DG East
BSF
HQ SPL DG (EC)
20/1,Gurusaday Road,
Kolkata – 700019
Tel: 033 22877191, 033 22874283
Email: hqspldgeast@bsf.nic.in
6. Shri. Harsh Vardhan Shringla
Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh
High Commission of India
House No. 2, Road No.142, Gulshan-1, Dhaka.
Tel: 00880-2-9889339,
EPABX : 00880-2-9888789-91
Fax: 00880-2-9893050
Email: hc@hcidhaka.gov.in
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
