The biannual director general-level conference between Border Guard Bangladesh and Indian Border Security Force begins today amid protests over the acquittal of Felani’s self-confessed killer by a special BSF court and demand to stop border killings.
The six-day meeting will be held at the Pilkhana Headquarters in the capital with BGB chief Maj Gen Aziz Ahmed leading a 19-member team. BSF Director General Subhash Joshi who leads a 20-member delegation reached Dhaka on Saturday.
The conference will end on September 18 with the signing of a Joint Record of Discussion. The last meeting took place in New Delhi on March 18 this year.
Sources said the home side will bring up at the conference a number of issues relating to killing, torture and abduction of unarmed civilians along the border, cross-border movement of criminals, and smuggling of Indian firearms and narcotics including Phensidyle, heroin and Yaba into Bangladesh.
They will also talk on trespassing of BSF and Indian nationals into Bangladesh territory, BSF’s attempt to obstruct pre-approved development works, and construction work within 150 yards of the border.
The officials will also discuss the possibility of holding regularly deputy commissioner-level meetings of bordering districts of both the sides.
The meeting is being held at a time when the BSF has announced that they would revise the trial verdict, announced on September 6, as the authorities had not agreed with the findings of the court.
On Monday, the foreign ministry formally expressed frustration, and said the government would appeal against the verdict.
The first-ever trial on a border killing has drawn severe criticism after the BSF special court acquitted constable Amiya Ghosh saying that he could not be found guilty because of “inconclusive and insufficient” evidence.
