The girl, Shwarna Das, a resident of Juri town in Moulvibazar district, was shot on September 1 while attempting to cross the border into India with relatives. BSF handed over her body to Bangladeshi authorities about 45 hours after the incident.
This marks the first formal protest by the transitional government led by Muhammad Yunus, following the resignation and departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, who had maintained close ties with India, on August 5.
According to Ain-o-Salish Kendra, a local human rights organization, at least 13 Bangladeshis were killed and 11 injured by BSF between January and June of this year. Another group, Odhikar, reports that between 2000 and 2020, 1,236Bangladeshis were killed and 1,145 injured in BSF-related shootings along the border.
The two nations share a 4,096-kilometer (2,545-mile) border, one of the longest land borders in the world.A 16-year-old girl from Bangladesh, Swarna Das, was found dead with bullet injury on her body at the zero point of India-Bangladesh international border near Kalerkhandi village in Kailashahar on Sunday.
The minor girl was allegedly hit by a bullet fired by the Border Guard Bangladesh while attempting to illegally cross the India-Bangladesh border along with her parents.
According to sources, Swarna, along with her parents, Rebati Das and Rani Das, had hired an agent to cross the border and enter Indian territory. On Sunday night, when they were attempting to cross the border near pillar no-57, the BGB opened fire.
After being hit by the bullet, Swarna managed to run a short distance before she died at the zero point. Her parents, however, managed to escape back to Bangladesh, but were later apprehended by the BGB. They fell ill and are currently undergoing treatment at Moulvibazar District Hospital.The incident came to light on Monday morning when the BSF personnel spotted the body at the zero point. Due to the girl's death within Indian territory, Bangladeshi authorities were unable to retrieve her body.
The Additional Superintendent of Police, Unakoti district, the Sub-Divisional Police Officer of Kailashahar, the OC of Irani police station, and a Deputy Magistrate, along with BSF officials, reached the spot and retrieved the body.
The body was then sent for post-mortem to Unakoti district hospital in Kailashahar. The incident has sparked outrage in the region and has highlighted the dangers of illegal border crossings. Meanwhile, a sense of panic had gripped the people of Kalerkhandi village after they heard the sound of gunfire late on Sunday night.
The Border Security Force (BSF) has asked its Bangladeshi counterpart, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), to "prevent" citizens of the neighbouring country from illegally entering India in the wake of the Sheikh Hasina government's fall in August, the force said on Friday.
The BSF also said it is committed to maintaining the sanctity of the 4,096-km international boundary, along with ensuring the safety and security of the border population.Since August 12, both the border-guarding forces -- BSF and BGB --had 722 meetings at various levels, the force said after the meeting of a special committee appointed by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), which was held in Kolkata on Thursday.
A 15-year-old Hindu boy named Utsav Mandol, who was accused of making “objectionable comments” about Prophet Muhammad on social media, was reportedly beaten and killed by a mob inside a police station in Bangladesh.In a post on X, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities wrote, “A college student, Utsav Mandol (a Hindu Youth), was hacked to death at Khulna City of Bangladesh by Islamists. Allegations against him were he posted statements that are considered #blasphemy on social media. Without forensic evidence, he was detained by police, and the mob lunched him in the police station where Army personnel was also present.”
Muhammad Yunus, the head of Bangladesh's interim government, strongly rejected the notion that Bangladesh will turn into another Afghanistan without Sheikh Hasina at the helm, urging India to abandon this narrative and work towards improving bilateral ties.
Yunus stated that the attacks on minority Hindus in Bangladesh are "more political than communal" and questioned India's portrayal of these incidents.
"These attacks are political in nature and not communal. And India is propagating these incidents in a big way. We have not said that we can't do anything; we have said that we are doing everything," he said in an interview with news agency PTI.
"The way forward is for India to come out of the narrative.The narrative is that everybody is Islamist, BNP is Islamist, and everyone else is Islamist and will make this country into Afghanistan. And Bangladesh is in safe hands with Sheikh Hasina at the helm only. India is captivated by this narrative.India needs to come out of this narrative. Bangladesh, like any other nation, is just another neighbour," he said.
Yunus expressed a desire for strong ties with India and called for greater cooperation to improve the strained relationship between the two neighbours."We need to work together to improve this relationship, which is now at a low,"he said.
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