INDIA: BSF personnel injure and kill villagers by firing once again in West Bengal 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from MASUM, a human rights organisation in West Bengal, about the indiscriminate firing by the Border Security Force (BSF) in Muradpur village and Biswaspura, Jalangi Police station, Murshidabad District, out of which one man sustained injuries and is fighting for survival, another died on the spot, and the body of one victim amongst the other three presumed to be dead was recovered in the evening.

According to the fact-finding team from MASUM, on 20 November 2005, like other days, the BSF personnel at the Muradpur border were allowing these villagers to smuggle food articles (namely, wheat, rice, pulses etc) across the border after taking money from them. However, it is alleged that they saw these villagers also trying to take a few cows across the border, for which they had not been bribed. This angered the BSF who then opened fire killing and injuring these villagers. The fact-finding team alleges that the BSF fired 13 rounds of ammunition.

The firing took place about seven to eight kilometers away from the border and if the BSF were concerned about security issues, they could have easily apprehended the villagers. Instead they chose to resort to firing. MASUM spoke to the Deputy Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad, Inspector BSF camp, Jalangi, and Officer-in-Charge, Jalangi Police station who all assured that case proceedings against the BSF personnel would be started but nothing has been done so far. The complaints filed by the families of the victims at the Jalangi Police Station are yet to be registered.

Meanwhile, two cases have been lodged by the Head of the BSF camp in the Jalangi police station (case no 186/2005 and 187/2005) related to the firing out of which the latter case includes sections of the Foreigners Act and the Arms Act against the victims of the firing.

The AHRC therefore urges you to intervene in this matter urgently and write to the Director General of the Border Security Forces. The perpetrators should be punished for the arbitrary firing and the government should take immediate cognizance of the cross border smuggling and the continuous flow of infiltration that exists on the West Bengal-Bangladesh border. Despite having brought this to the notice of the authorities many times in the recent past, little seems to have been done in this regard. We hope that this case will once again highlight the urgency of this matter so that many lives could be saved in the future. Action should also be taken against the local police who have failed to act on the complaints filed by the victims’ families.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission
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DETAILED INFORMATION

Name of victims:
1. Muktar Mondal, aged 22 years, son of Kader, Muradpur, Jalangi
2. Sainuddin Mondal, aged 23 years, son of Aseruddin, Muradpur, Jalangi
3. Sainuddin Dafadar, son of Nasir, Muradpur, Jalangi
4. Rabil, alias Rabiul SK aged around 23 years, Vagjot Village, Doulatpur police station, Kusthia District, Bangladesh
5. Babu Mondol, Dayerpara Village, Jalangi Police Station
Place of incident: Muradpur Village, South Ghoshpara, Jalangi Police Station, Murshidabad     District and Biswas Para (near Sarkarpara), Jalangi police station, Murshidabad
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Constable Lalchand, 51 batallion, BSF, Roshanbagh, Murshidabad
2. Constable Onkarmall, 51 batallion, BSF, Roshanbagh, Murshidabad
3. Constable Rajendra Kumar,51 batallion, SF, Roshanbagh, Murshidabad
4. Constable Niranjan Roy,51 batallion, BSF, Roshanbagh, Murshidabad
Others involved:
1. Subir Pal, Officer-in-charge, Jalangi Police Station, Murshidabad
2. J. Rahman, Dy. Superintendent of Police, Murshidabad
3. Sajidur Rahaman alias Saju, an elected member of the Jalangi Panchayat Samity
Date of incident: 20 November 2005

Case Details:

On 20 November 2005, between 8:00-8:15a.m, the BSF opened fire at Muradpur Village, South Ghoshpara, under the Jalangi Police Station, Murshidabad District injuring Sainuddin Mondal who received bullet injuries on his right arm and chest. He was then taken to Darayampur hospital and subsequently transferred to the Behrampore District Hospital where he is still fighting for his life.

The body of one of the other victims of this indiscriminate firing, Moktar Mondal was only recovered at about 4:30 p.m. from the Padma river. The other two victims, Sainuddin Dafadar, and Babu Mondal are presumed to be dead as they are missing and their bodies have not been found as yet.

On the same day, the BSF guards also killed a 23-year-old Bangladeshi named Rabil, at Biswaspara (near Sarkar Para), Jalangi. According to the guards, these villagers were trying to cross the border with their cows and were asked not to do so. Despite their warning, when they did not stop, the guards fired at them.

However, this is refuted by the fact-finding team of MASUM. According to them the BSF personnel who have been involved in cross border smuggling usually allow the villagers to smuggle food items and on the day of the incident, the guards belonging to the Charvadra camp  once again allowed the villagers carrying gunny bags to cross Padma river. The smugglers were carrying gunny bags containing food grains to the ghat (the smuggler transit point at the river site) in the presence of the guards when the BSF personnel suddenly saw them trying to take across cows which were unaccounted for and for which the guards had not received any kickbacks. This angered them and they then started opening fire injuring and killing some of the villagers.

The fact-finding team also found that the BSF fired 13 bullet rounds in Muradpur village out of which seven shots were first fired and then another six. On contacting a BSF Inspector, he mentioned that only 11 rounds of firing had taken place by Constable Lal Chand (with rifle no 268) and Constable Onkarmall (with rifle no 204).

In Biswaspara, it is alleged that Constables Rajendra Kumar and Niranjan Ray were in the patrol party. Niranjan Ray is alleged to have fired two shots at Rabil, who was on the Indian side of the banks of River Padma. No articles were discovered from his possession.

Hearing about this incident Mr.Rahman, Deputy Superintendent of police, Murshidabad and others including the Circle Inspector, Jalangi and the Block Development Officer, Jalangi reached the places where the firing had taken place. In both these places there were thousands of protesting villagers.

Babu Mondal’s uncle Ramjan Mondal, son of Ajit Mondal, filed a complaint on November 21 stating that his nephew who was cutting paddy on the fields suddenly went missing. He alleges that Babu was killed in the firing that took place and his body has been disposed of in the river. The wife of Sainuddin also filed a complaint at the Jalangi Police Station but the police are yet to even register the complaint. It is in fact alleged that they threw the written complaints in the dustbin.

On the other hand, Inspector Azad Singh, head of Jalangi BSF camp has filed two cases, namely case no 186/2005, dated 20/11/05 under sections 186/353/307/34 IPC where the accused column reads “unknown” and case 187/2005 dated 20/11/05 under sections186/353/307/34IPC and 13/14 Foreigners Act and 25/27 Arms Act in which the accused persons are:1) Sainuddin Mondal, son of Nazir and 2) Ershad Dafadar, son of Asraful, charaipuri Garer Para, Doulatpur Police Station, Kusthia district, Bangladesh.

It is to be noted that the spots where the firing took place are about seven to eight kilometers from the international border. If security concerns were an issue then the BSF guards could have easily apprehended the villagers instead of firing at them.

It is alleged that this particular ghat or transit point for smuggled goods is controlled by Sajidur Rahaman, an elected member of the Jalangi Panchayat Samity from the CPIM party who is a big part of the smuggling nexus between the police, administration, the BSF and others. It is also alleged that Rahaman in the presence of various police and BSF personnel at the Jalangi police station, filed a false complaint stating that the guards fired at Sainuddin while he was sitting on the banks of the Padma river. He at the same time instructed the police not to start proceedings against the BSF personnel.

Cross border smuggling has been taking place on the Bengal-Bangladesh border for many years in which the BSF have been closely involved and are supported by the local police and other arms of the administration.  Within this context, human rights violations of poor villagers often take place. Caught in the web of extreme poverty (there is very little by way of livelihood in this area) and fear of the border security personnel, many villagers have no choice but to resort to smuggling and in the process often lose their lives.

The AHRC strongly condemns the autocratic and the unjust behavior of not only the BSF personnel but all those involved in these nefarious activities.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please write to the Director General, BSF and others asking them to investigate into this matter and not only punish the offenders for their heinous crime but also see that proper steps are taken to ensure that smuggling activities at the border are reduced.

 

 

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