In a secretive village that one cannot find on any Bangladeshi map, lies a den of vice that only those in the know and hardened addicts can easily get to.
Straddling the Bangladesh-India frontier along Comilla’s border with Tripura, the village of Ashabari nudges beyond no-man’s land to place the smallest of toeholds in Bangladeshi territory.
Once inside the village, the international border is a blur.
Every buzz and high prohibited in Bangladesh is easily acquired in Ashabari’s rustic speakeasies.
Taking advantage of India’s lack of prohibition on alcohol, Ashabari serves as a sort of bar and substance abuse playground for Bangladeshis. Drugs harder than alcohol are also on offer.
Just like any bar worthy of the name, a formidable set of bouncers and local cabbies control traffic in and out of the area.
Bangladeshi enforcers and even India’s Border Security Force, though perhaps inadvertently, are pressed into the service of the drug trade through a clever manipulation of border law.
Ashabari’s gatekeepers also include the auto-rickshaw drivers in the area, who perform the verbal equivalent of a full body check before agreeing to fares into the happy hamlet.
When the Dhaka Tribune attempted to visit Ashabari in the first week of October last year, it found that local journalists and law enforcers were restricted access to the village, unless they were known drug users or knew somebody of importance.
So, the DT correspondent stashed his identity papers in a safe place and hired an auto-rickshaw, convincing the driver that he badly needed to have some beer and would pay him handsomely for the ride.
Whether the driver was moved by the sad tale of thirst and longing or the prospect of a beefy baksheesh we shall never know.
But after satisfying his suspicions about the correspondent’s intentions, he agreed to the fare.
Getting him to agree was not as easy as it might seem in a few lines of print.
The journey to the village from Shoshidol union bazar under Brahmanpara upazila began only after the correspondent convinced the driver, Sumon, about his need for alcohol.
That was round one.
As the auto-rickshaw neared the village, it was stopped by Bangladeshi nationals asking about the correspondent’s identity.
Sumon obligingly explained that the correspondent was dying for a drink but they were not convinced.
This time the correspondent was subjected to a literal body check.
Nearly half an hour later, suffering from intense buzzkill, the correspondent finally reached Ashabari which is situated on the zero-line, where the Bangladesh border ends.
India’s Border Security Force (BSF) guards were seen patrolling the area.
Seeing the men in uniform, Sumon, who moonlights as a drug dealer, sped towards a house inhabited by Indian nationals.
A hill composed of empty phensedyl bottles greeted the correspondent as he entered the house.
A little worried by the sight, Sumon was approached about security issues.
“You have nothing to worry about. Bangladeshi law enforcement has no right to enter the village. I bring people here all the time. They drink and leave. No problem,” he said.
In Ashabari a bottle of phensedyl costs between Tk360 and Tk400. In Shoshidol bazar, half a kilometre away, it is double that.
In addition to phensedyl, marijuana, heroin, local wine and beer are available in the village.
Just like at any bar or pub, one is required to drink on the premises. No taking bottles out of the establishment.
Asked why, Sumon said simply: “Because Bangladeshi law enforcement will arrest you.”
In order to leave Ashabari safely, the correspondent had to buy two bottles of beer from a villager named Poritosh.
He said nearly 100 families live on the zero line and enjoy all sorts of benefits from India.
Asked whether Poritosh ever visits Bangladesh, he said he has not, out of fear of arrest for illegal entry.
Asked whether he feared Bangladeshi law enforcers inside the village, Poritosh said: “If they enter here, they will face legal problems from our BSF officials.”
In addition to being a sort of speakeasy, Ashabari village also serves as a warehouse for contraband drugs and liquor destined for the Bangladesh black market.
Nazrul Islam, chairman of Shoshidol Union Parishad, denied that locals are involved in the contraband drug trade, saying: “Basically it is some outsiders who come to take drugs.”
But village sources refuted the chairman’s statement, saying almost all of the inhabitants of the village are engaged in the illicit drug economy.
They said they keep Bangladeshi law enforcers at arm’s length by keeping the BSF informed about Bangladesh police activity. This results in clashes over jurisdiction, which locals say provide cover for the illegal trade.
On March 25 last year, Comilla Detective Branch (DB) Sub-Inspector Mahbubur Rahman, Assistant Sub-Inspector Alamgir Hossain, Constable Taposh and Bikash were detained by the BSF after they entered the village with the intention of carrying out a drug bust.
The policemen were handed back to Bangladesh two days after their detention following a Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) flag meeting with the BSF. They were then temporarily suspended by Ashabari village local police for illegally entering India.
Confirming the incident, AKM Manzur Alam, Comilla DB police inspector, told the Dhaka Tribune that the policemen were at fault for entering Indian territory illegally.
SM Badiuzzaman, officer-in-charge of Brahmanpara police station, told the Dhaka Tribune that nearly two dozen cases involving Ashabari village are filed every month over the illicit drug trade, but policemen cannot act because the village is beyond the zero-line.
“BGB does look into the issue and has a couple of outposts in the area but drugs are still entering Bangladesh,” Badiuzzaman said.
Lt Col Nazrul Islam, commanding officer of Border Guard Bangladesh Comilla Region, told the Dhaka Tribune that it is not possible to stop these activities 100 percent but the BGB was trying to bring it under control.