Bangladesh
India-Bangladesh Border No use of lethal weapons on border: BSF DG
Own Correspondent, Dhaka, 10 February 2024: Director General of India's Border Security Force (BSF) Nitin Agarwal has said that the BSF is using non-lethal weapons on the Bangladesh border. Various initiatives have been taken to reduce border killings to zero. He said this in response to a question asked by journalists at the joint press conference of the BGB-BSF DG on the last day of the 54th BGB-BSF Director General level border conference in Dhaka on Saturday (March 9).
BSF DG Nitin Aggarwal said, organized crime, human trafficking, smuggling gangs like organized crime in the border areas attack the BSF members from time to time. BSF personnel are sometimes forced to fire in self-defence.
Last year around 60 BSF personnel were seriously injured by lethal weapons such as those reported. Not only Bangladeshis but also Indian criminals died in the resistance of BSF. He said lethal weapons are not used on the border, but firing non-lethal weapons at close range can still result in deaths. Rubber bullets can also kill at close range. When the BSF personnel were attacked with daa, they came very close. Then the BSF personnel were sometimes forced to fire in self-defence.
Apart from this, a large number of smugglers were arrested and the arrested were handed over to the BGB. We are trying our best to reduce border deaths to zero. For this reason, various activities including joint border patrolling, intelligence sharing are going on.
BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui said, we are trying to increase awareness at the border. I don't want any casualties on the border. A 16-member Bangladesh delegation led by BGB Director General Major General Mohammad Ashrafuzzaman Siddiqui participated in Dhaka on March 5-9. A 9-member Indian delegation led by BSF Director General Nitin Agarwal participated in the conference.
