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“Trigger Happy” R I G H T S Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops W a T C H at the Bangladesh Border

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“Trigger Happy” R I G H T S Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops W a T C H at the Bangladesh Border India/Banglades H U M A “Trigger Happy” R I G H T S Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops W A T C H at the Bangladesh Border “Trigger Happy” Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-723-X Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org December 2010 ISBN 1-56432-723-X “Trigger Happy” Excessive Use of Force by Indian Troops at the Bangladesh Border Map of India and Bangladesh ............................................................................................. 1 Map of Bangladesh and West Bengal Province in India ....................................................... 2 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 3 Key Recommendations ................................................................................................... 8 Methodology .................................................................................................................... 10 I. Background: Risk of Attacks by Border Guards .............................................................. 12 Border Guards ............................................................................................................... 13 Crimes in Border Areas .................................................................................................. 17 Problems for Border Residents ...................................................................................... 19 II. Excessive Use of Force and Indiscriminate Killings by the BSF ....................................... 21 Attacks on Bangladeshi Nationals ................................................................................ 22 Killing of Farid Hossain ........................................................................................... 22 Killing of Shyamol Karmokar ................................................................................... 23 Killing of Nazrul Islam ............................................................................................. 24 Killing of Shahidul Islam ......................................................................................... 26 Killing of Monirul Islam ............................................................................................ 27 Killing of Shafiqul Islam .......................................................................................... 28 Killing of Abdur Rakib, a 13-year-old boy ................................................................. 29 Indiscriminate Shooting at Nazrul Islam and Anwar Hossain ................................... 30 Injuries to Rumi Akhter Nipa, a 12-year-old girl......................................................... 31 Attacks on Indian Nationals .......................................................................................... 32 Killing of Basirun Bibi and Baby Ashique ................................................................. 33 Killing of Atiur Rahman ............................................................................................ 33 Killing of Shahjahan Gazi ......................................................................................... 35 Killing of Noor Hossain, a 17-year-old boy ............................................................... 36 Killing of Shyamsundar Mondal ............................................................................... 37 Killing of Sushanta Mondal, a 13-year-old boy ........................................................ 38 Killing of Abdus Samad .......................................................................................... 39 Killing of Sanjit Mondal, a 17-year-old boy ............................................................... 41 Killing of Shibajit Mondal ........................................................................................ 41 Killing of Peparul Seikh, a 16-year-old boy .............................................................. 42 Indiscriminate Shooting of Mrityunjoy Mondal ........................................................ 43 III. Torture and Ill-Treatment of Border Residents .............................................................. 45 Torture and Ill-Treatment of Bangladeshi Nationals ...................................................... 46 Death due to Torture of Hasnat Halsham Innu, a 15-year-old boy ............................ 46 Torture of Motiar Rahman ........................................................................................ 47 Torture of Kamrul Islam and Aktarul, a 17-year-old child .......................................... 48 Torture and Killing of Abdul Jalil .............................................................................. 49 Torture and Ill-Treatment of Indian Nationals ................................................................. 51 Beating of Mainul Islam, a 14-year-old boy .............................................................. 51 Torture of Nirsingha Mondal .................................................................................... 52 Beating of Taibul Rahman ........................................................................................ 53 Beating of Indrajit, Sanjit, and Surajit Mondal, two of them children ........................ 55 Mistreatment of Halima Bibi and her Daughter Kulduma Khatun ............................. 56 Ill-Treatment of Tutan Sheikh, Khalil Sheikh, and Hasibul Shiekh, a 14-year-old boy ..................................................................................................... 57 IV. Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 58 Annex I: Alleged Killings of Bangladeshi Nationals by the BSF .......................................... 61 Annex II: Alleged Killings of Indian Nationals by the BSF .................................................. 77 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 81 Map of India and Bangladesh 1 Human Rights Watch | December 2010 Map of Bangladesh and West Bengal Province in India “Trigger Happy” 2 Summary This report documents a pattern of grave abuses by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) against both Bangladeshi and Indian nationals in the border area along India’s 2,000 kilometer long international fontier with Bangladesh in West Bengal state. The abuses include cases of indiscriminate killing and torture. Most of the abuses documented in this report are related to efforts by the Indian government to deal with cross-border smuggling, particularly cattle-rustling. However, as this report shows, the abusive methods used by the BSF are disproportionate to the problems that the Indian government faces on its eastern border. Numerous ordinary Indian and Bangladeshi citizens resident in the border area end up as the victims of BSF abuses, which range from verbal abuse and intimidation to torture, beatings, and killings. Furthermore, because of the near total absence of effective accountability mechanisms for abuses carried out by members of the BSF, even the most serious abuses by border guards go unpunished. This sends a clear message that the Indian government finds such abuses acceptable. The border area between India and Bangladesh is heavily populated and acutely poor. Many farmers on both sides of the border have also lost their farms and livelihoods to river erosion. Illegal cross-border activities, such as cattle-rustling, and trafficking in persons and narcotics, have flourished. In several of the cases documented in this report, victims were beaten up or killed while smuggling cattle across the border at night. Others were tortured or killed merely on suspicion of being involved in cattle-rustling. Children, reportedly employed by smugglers to reduce the risk of detection, are among the victims whose cases are documented below. Several survivors and eyewitnesses of attacks allege that the BSF engaged in indiscriminate shooting without warning. Seventeen-year-old Bangladeshi Shyamol Karmokar sneaked into India to visit relatives. On January 26, 2010, he decided to return to Bangladesh with the assistance of cattle-rustlers. Mohammad Zahid, who had agreed to bring Shyamol back to Bangladesh, said that they were detected by the BSF close to the border. Instead of attempting to arrest them, BSF officers immediately opened fire. Shyamol was killed. Torture is also rife. On January 25, 2010, Motiar Rahman, a Bangladeshi national strayed across the border while cutting grass, a common mistake since there are no clear markers. According
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