Author: Editorial
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: April 20, 2005
The incident last Saturday, in which
men of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) brutally tortured and killed an
Assistant Commandant-and seriously injured two jawans-of the Border
Security Force, provided yet another example of the criminal acts
that have become almost routine with Bangladesh's paramilitary border
force. It bears the classic imprimatur of a trap. It began with a
group of Bangladeshi's trying to abduct an Indian citizen from Indian
territory in
Tripura about eight kilometres from
the State's capital of Agartala. As BSF personnel from the Lankamura
outpost close by rushed to his rescue, a group of armed men in civilian
clothes dragged them inside Bangladesh where men of the BDR set upon
them. While the event is absolutely shocking, it should not cause
surprise considering that much worse had happened at Pyrdiwah on
the India-Bangladesh border along Meghalaya on April 18, 2001 when
16 BSF personnel, including Deputy Commandant BR Mondol, were ambushed,
tortured and killed.
Their hideously mutilated bodies
were returned tied to bamboo poles by their hand and feet! While
the incident last Saturday and the one at Pyrdiwah four years ago,
stand out for their sadistic cruelty, clashes between the BSF and
BDR have been increasingly frequent along the long and porous India-Bangladesh
border, with the BDR resorting to frequent and totally unprovoked
firing in recent months to stall the construction of border fences
inside Indian territory or to facilitate the passage of illegal immigrants
into India by diverting the BSF's attention. In the Tripura sector
alone, there have been five instances of heavy firing in the last
couple of months.
Dhaka's denial of the existence
of the camps of north-eastern India's secessionist rebels on its
soil despite New Delhi providing it with full details about their
location, must have helped to shape the BDR's perception of this
country as an enemy. The latter in turn must have been further sharpened
by the role it plays-with the full knowledge and approval of Dhaka-in
enabling these rebels to come and go across the border on their murderous
missions.
Things have been made worse by the
increasing penetration of the BDR, Bangladesh's armed forces and
intelligence agencies by the ISI and fundamentalist Islamist elements
pathologically hostile to India. Sections of the BDR, therefore,
harbour an intense hatred for India that explodes every now and then
in violence, and occasionally in acts of savagery. The BDR's recklessness
has increased with time as its criminal acts have gone largely unpunished,
and it has mistaken India's restraint as weakness. Nothing underlines
this more than the fact that the incident on the Tripura border occurred
the day the BSF's Director-General, Mr RS Mooshahary, had concluded
his talks with the BDR's Director, Maj Gen Jahangir Alam Khan, in
Dhaka.
If Bangladesh seriously wants cordial
and mutually beneficial relations with India, including those on
the economic front it has been so persistently seeking, it must put
the BDR on leash and dismantle the camps that insurgents from north-eastern
India have set up on its soil. Enmity and savagery along the border
do not go hand-in-hand with friendship. Meanwhile, India must also
consider a proactive policy on the border including engaging in hot
pursuit whenever an incident like last Saturday's occurs. The BDR
must be made to realise that the consequences of wanton savagery
can be severe.
