New Delhi orders full probe into BSF torture: spokesman

India on Thursday said it ordered a full investigation into the recent torture on a Bangladeshi by their Border Security Force men and the authorities of the paramilitary frontier force took ‘prompt actions’ in suspending the personnel concerned.

‘BSF has taken prompt action to suspend BSF jawans involved in the incident and full investigations have been ordered into the matter,’ a spokesman of the India’s external affairs ministry said in a brief comment as video footage of the torture posted online sparked wide reactions in Bangladeshi as well as Indian media.

His comments came as media reports said BSF already suspended eight of its soldiers after the video, showing a man being stripped, kicked and beaten in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district along the Bangladesh-India border, was posted.

Several leading newspapers including the Hindu, The Times of India and Hindustan Times published prominently the news item while Indian television channels, including NDTV and Times Now repeatedly aired the footage that showed three to four BSF personnel beating up a man and tying him with sticks.

The Hindu reported that BSF suspended the men by late on Wednesday and they were identified as constables Virender Tiwari, VS Victor, Dhananjay Kumar, Anand Singh, Amar Jyoti, Sanjeev Kumar, Suresh Chand and Sunil Kumar.

‘The eight personnel have been identified and suspended,’ Deputy Inspector General at BSF headquarters Vikas Chandra told the newspaper.

BSF public relations officer T Acharya earlier said the news video clipping showing ‘violent and illegal conduct by three-four men in uniform in the area of Murshidabad, West Bengal has been taken note of by BSF headquarters.’

‘A detailed staff court-of-inquiry has been ordered to fix responsibility and take action under BSF Act and rules for this misconduct,’ he said.

Acharya added that the commandant of 105 Battalion, to which the suspended personnel belong, was been asked to immediately visit the spot and ascertain full details of the incident.

The Hindu termed the video as ‘shocking’ and said the footage of the suspected cattle rustler, stripped, bound and beaten up allegedly by BSF jawans in the Raninagar police station area near the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district has created uproar.’

According to the NDTV, the grainy video was downloaded from the mobile phone of a BSF personnel who had given it to a mobile shop owner for downloading ringtone and the mobile shop owner made a CD of the video and sent it to news channels and rights groups.

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Dhaka protests

Dhaka yesterday officially lodged protest with New Delhi over an incident of torture of a Bangladeshi man by the Indian Border Security Force last month.

"The Government of Bangladesh has conveyed its utter dismay about the incident to the Indian side. It has protested such abusive and violent action by BSF personnel despite repeated assurance from the Indian leadership about exercize of utmost restraint by BSF personnel," said a Bangladesh foreign ministry press release. 

"The Ministry has also requested the concerned authorities of India to conduct a thorough enquiry into the incident and take appropriate action against the BSF personnel responsible for the abusive and violent action. The Ministry has also requested for immediate action to prevent such and other violent incidents from recurring in future," the release added.

The protest was conveyed through the Indian high commission in Dhaka.

Different Indian TV channels including NDTV aired a video on Wednesday showing several BSF personnel beating up a stripped off Bangladeshi man, tying his hands at the back to a stick in Murshidabad district of Paschimbanga.

A senior official of the Bangladesh foreign ministry said yesterday, "We are highly disappointed with such a barbaric incident. We have asked Border Guard Bangladesh to give an inquiry report immediately."

The official said BGB already identified the victim and the investigation report is expected to reach the foreign ministry very soon.

"The incident is very unfortunate and we are disappointed," Mashfee Binte Shams, director general (South Asia) of the foreign ministry, told The Daily Star.

Reporting on the Indian authorities' move, our New Delhi correspondent quoted a spokesman of the Ministry of External Affairs as saying, "BSF has taken prompt action to suspend its jawans involved in the incident, and full investigations have been ordered into the matter."

"Eight personnel have been identified and suspended pending enquiry," said Vikas Chandra, deputy inspector general at the BSF headquarters.

The suspended jawans have been identified as constables Birender Tiwari, VS Victor, Dhananjay Kumar Rai, Anand Singh, Amar Jyoti, Sanjeev KR, Suresh Chand, and Sunil Kumar.

They belong to the 105th battalion of BSF, and the incident took place at the Charmurasi border outpost.

A staff court of inquiry has been ordered by the BSF inspector general of the South Bengal Frontier to probe the incident.

"Vijay Kumar, commandant of BSF's 119 battalion, who is from a sector other than the place where the incident had happened, has been detailed to conduct the probe," a statement issued by the BSF headquarters said yesterday.

BSF sources said BGB will be requested to bring the victim to the zero-line for questioning and recording of a statement, and the enquiry report is expected to be submitted soon.

They said "strict disciplinary action" will be taken against the eight jawans based on the findings of the enquiry.

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Torture for mobile, torchlight, Rs 1,000

Not having a mobile phone, torchlight and a thousand rupees as bribe almost cost the life of a Bangladeshi who was caught on camera while being tortured by Indian border guards.

Stripping him, the jawans of Border Security Force (BSF) tied his hands and legs and beat him up before dumping his unconscious body in a mustard field near Raninagar camp in Murshidabad district of Paschimbanga. 

"When I opened my eyes, I was not sure if I was alive. I rested in the mustard field for a while to pull myself together. Though I was unable to move due to the excessive beating, I forced myself to get up and headed towards home," the victim said.

He estimated that he was about five to seven kilometres into the Indian Territory.

Habibur Rahman, 22, son of one Saidur Rahman of Sateroroshia village under Shibganj upazila of Chapainawabganj, used to smuggle cattle from India. He had never been caught by the BSF in his one-year stint as a smuggler until December 9 last year, the day he experienced his worst nightmare.

The video footage of the BSF torture that had been aired by different television channels in India, including NDTV, sent a shock wave across the nation.

The Daily Star yesterday interviewed Habibur at Monakosha border out post in Chapainawabganj.

On December 9 morning, 10-12 men, including Habibur, sneaked into Murshidabad district through Khanpur border in Paba upazila of Rajshahi to fetch some cattle as instructed by a Bangladeshi trader. 

"We found no cattle when we reached the rendezvous point. So, we started back for home," said Habibur, adding that it was around 11:00pm when the BSF men caught him with two others.

"They demanded Rs 1,000, a mobile phone and torchlight from me. As I said I did not have those, they started kicking and punching me. But that was only the trailer of what to happen next. They took me to their camp at Raninagar on a tractor," he said.

Habibur was wearing a lungi, a pink shirt and a jacket. 

"The real beating began the next morning," said Habibur, "Two jawans stripped me, tied my hands at the back to a stick. They also tied the legs. Then they started to beat me up with a stick." Habibur still looked in shock when he was describing the BSF brutality.

"As I fell on the ground, three of them indulged in beating me up indiscriminately," said Habibur failing to hold his tears.

The video footage of the Indian TV channels and on website matches the description of the victim.

"At one point, one of them sat on my abdomen and held my feet up while another hit me on the bare sole with a stick. The torture continued for at least an hour," he said, adding that the jawans then dragged him a few yards, pulled him up and asked him to walk on his own.

"But I blacked out and fell down. A few hours later, I found myself lying in a mustard field," the victim said, adding that 

He showed his injuries marks on the face, hands, legs and the back.

On his return, Habibur did not dare to go to a hospital fearing more ordeals. He chose traditional treatment.

About his former profession, Habibur said each cattle smuggler get Tk 1,000 for bringing a pair of cattle and one could bring up to six cows in each trip.

Pointing out that chances are high for cattle smugglers to get caught, he said BSF men let them go in exchange bribes.

After reports were published in different newspapers and television channels, BGB officials also met the victim yesterday. 

“We tracked him at his home in Sateroroshia village,” Lt Col Jahangir Hossain, commanding officer of 39 BGB Battalion in Chapainawabganj, told The Daily Star. 

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BREAKING NEWS : Don't invest in stocks, govt tells employees

The government on Wednesday ordered public servants to refrain from investing in the capital market.

“No Government servant shall make, or permit any member of his family to make any investment likely to embarrass or influence him in the discharge of his official duties,” reads a notification issued in the afternoon.

The ministry of public administration issued the notification, which The Daily Star received by fax in the evening.

The ministry move came two days into a cabinet decision to remind public employees about the investment stipulations.

Interestingly, a few hours before issuance of the notification, M Khairul Hossain, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the stockmarket regulator, told the press that no decision was taken at Monday’s cabinet meeting to stop public servants from investing in the share market.

The ministry notification, signed by senior secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder, cited ‘The Government Servants (Conduct) Rules 1979’ in reminding the public servants of the stipulations.

The first sub-rule of Section 15 of the Service Rules titled ‘Speculation and investment’ topic says, “No Government servant shall speculate in investments. For the purpose of this sub-rule, the habitual purchase and sale of securities of notoriously fluctuating value shall be deemed to be speculation in investments.” 

The notification also cited another sub-rule that says no government servant shall make any investment the value of which is likely to be affected by some event “of which information is available to him as a Government servant and is not equally available to the general public”. 

If any question arises whether a security or an investment is of the nature referred to the abovementioned sub-rules, the decision of the government will be considered final, Section 15 added.

On Monday, the cabinet decided to remind public employees about the service rules that prohibit involvement in profit-making activities, including stock business, without prior permission.

At the meeting, a couple of ministers drew the cabinet's attention to the huge number of government employees and their dependants being engaged in the stock business. This, the ministers observed, had been hampering public service. Besides, employees with stock investments tend to take a hostile attitude towards the government when their shares slump.

Agreeing with the observations, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina enquired about the Government Servant (Conduct) Rules 1979 and directed the ministries concerned to remind the employees about the stipulations.

“We all know that stockmarkets are risky. We also know that it is not appropriate for military and civil officials to get involved in this kind of business,” prime minister's press secretary Abul Kalam Azad said while briefing newsmen after the meeting Monday.

Former bureaucrats welcomed the government move.

“Government officials should not be allowed to engage in stock trading where there might be scope for a conflict of interest,” said Akbar Ali Khan, a former finance secretary and adviser of the caretaker government.

“Even where there is no conflict of interest, the government still can impose a ban as their involvement could hamper government activities,” he said.

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Ershad to kick up Teesta storm

Jatiya Party (JP) chief Hussein Muhammad Ershad, a key ally of the ruling coalition government, On Wednesday said he would raise a "storm of demonstrations" with his party's ongoing Teesta long march protests unless Bangladesh gets equitable share of Teesta water.

"The government failed to sign the Teesta agreement though the Teesta Barrage was inaugurated on Aug 5, 1990. We will raise a storm of demonstrations through this (Teesta long march) programme," Ershad said on the second day of the protest march.

"We want fair share of Teesta water," he said before starting the day's march from near Rangpur Zila School around 11.45am.

Emphasising that the Teesta long march is meant for, and represents, each Bangladeshi, the deposed military dictator hoped that all political parties and the people would support it. "Let our protesting voice reach India," Ershad said as a clarion call.

He is set to address some street rallies and a public rally at the Teesta Barrage helipad ground around 3pm.

Ershad had earlier said at a street rally in Elenga, Tangail, that announcement of his party's decision to quit the coalition would come in "due time". Replying to a journalist's query on the issue, he said, "Leave it to me, I will make the announcement in due time."

The long march towards Teesta Barrage started from the party's Banani headquarters at 9am on Tuesday to press home the party's demand for fair share of Teesta water from India.

The Jatiya Party chief addressed 15 street rallies on the first day of the long march.

The march from Dhaka started with around 2,000 vehicles, and another 2,000 vehicles joined the motorcade from Rangpur on Wednesday.

Ershad will stay the night at his own home -- 'Palli Nibash' -- after a street rally in Mithapukur.

He had earlier led the Tipaimukh long march on Dec 10-11, protesting India's decision to build a dam on Barak river. 

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