Indo-Bangladesh border-lands in West Bengal (2017 km in length), fraught with strife, has borne witness to a harrowing pattern of extra-judicial killings perpetrated by the Border Security Force (BSF). The modus operandi employed by the BSF is both methodical and chilling: after taking the life of an individual, they lodge a complaint with the local police, alleging self-defence. The accusation often includes claims that the deceased attempted murder or sought to grievously harm BSF personnel. To substantiate these charges, rudimentary agricultural tools–such as sickles, knives, and wooden staffs–are placed beside the lifeless body, creating a grim tableau of fabricated culpability.
Border Security Force (BSF), an armed force, was established by the Parliament of India (BSF Act & Rules, 1968), to aid the Indian military on the Pakistan border. In 1971, East Pakistan eloped by forming a new state, Bangladesh; but still BSF is posted there.
In collusion with the BSF, the local police proceeded to register criminal cases against the deceased, invoking charges under Section 307 IPC (Section 101 of BNS) and other provisions of the Indian Penal Code. These charges, however, serve merely to cloak the killings with a veneer of legality, rendering them state-sanctioned acts of violence. The grievances of the bereaved families–those who dare to seek justice for their loved ones slain, tortured, or vanished–are systematically ignored. Even in rare instances where public pressure compels the registration of cases against BSF personnel, the subsequent investigations are farcical. Arrests are seldom made, and inquiries invariably culminate in the exoneration of the accused.
Through the relentless efforts of human rights groups such as MASUM, over 500 criminal cases have been filed against BSF personnel implicated in acts of murder or torture. These cases, forwarded by judicial mandate to the concerned police stations, languish in abeyance–some for decades. The complainants, meanwhile, are left in a state of perpetual ignorance, their pursuit of justice thwarted by bureaucratic inertia.
This grim reality underscores the broader framework of impunity that pervades the nation–a dual edifice of legal and socio-economic privilege. On the one hand, government officials, judges, and armed forces personnel enjoy legal immunity from prosecution. On the other, a select echelon of society, the so-called “creamy layer,” wields its affluence and influence to evade accountability. These privileged few procure the finest legal counsel, treating justice as a commodity for purchase, and manipulate every facet of litigation to secure their immunity. This systemic inequity grants them an unassailable status, insulating them from the consequences of even the gravest allegations.
One must not overlook the complicity of successive governments in perpetuating this state of affairs. Before 2014, India was governed by non-BJP administrations, including a period when a self-proclaimed communist held the Home Ministry. In West Bengal, the Left Front reigned until 2011. Despite the division of authority–BSF falling under the purview of the Union government and police under state jurisdiction–both entities have operated in unison to enforce a reign of terror along the border. While publicly posturing as adversaries, these governments have privately harmonised their oppressive policies.
The complicity extends further, as the trafficking of cattle from northern India to the Bangladesh border involves a vast nexus of officials, from DGPs to station house officers, who ensure the smooth passage of these animals in exchange for illicit gains. Yet, the masterminds behind this racket remain untouchable, while lowly operatives, earning a pittance of Rs 200-Rs 500, are left to face the BSF’s bullets and batons.
Pakistan is a country that was named as ‘Enemy Country’ by the External Affairs Ministry of GOI. But at the border of Pakistan number of killings by border guards of India is too low than at the Bangladesh border. A glaring disparity emerges when one considers India’s borders with Bhutan and Nepal, where no fencing or militarised presence exists. Citizens of these nations traverse the boundaries freely, unencumbered by passports or visas. Bangladesh, despite its historical camaraderie with India dating back to 1971, faces a starkly different reality. The reasons for this dichotomy, as a famed lyricist and singer once opined, are “blowing in the wind.”
The situation has deteriorated sharply since 2014. During the preceding years, the annual death toll at the India-Bangladesh border was estimated at 100. However, in the so-called “achhe din” (good days) that followed, this number has surged to over 150, with approximately 20% of the victims being Bangladeshis and the remainder Indian citizens. One must question: in whose interests are these atrocities committed, and by whose patronage are they enabled?
In both national and international arenas, the clarion call against such rampant impunity is growing ever louder. It is imperative that people unite in this struggle to dismantle the architecture of privilege and hold perpetrators of injustice accountable, lest the very foundation of democracy be eroded beyond repair.
Kirity Roy is Secretary of BanglarManabadhikar Mancha—MASUM
Coiurtesy: Frontier, Vol 57, No. 32, Feb 2 – 8, 2025.
