Summary:
- Labor and Employment Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan has taken responsibility for the family of Felani Khatun, marking a significant step in supporting the victim’s family after 14 years.
- Felani Khatun, a 14-year-old girl, was fatally shot by India’s Border Security Force at the Anantapur border in Phulbari, Kurigram on January 7, 2011, with her body left hanging on barbed wire for five hours.
- The incident gained international attention and led Human Rights Watch to label BSF as a “killer force,” highlighting widespread border violence with approximately 1,000 Bangladeshi civilians killed between 2001-2010.
- Despite multiple legal proceedings including two BSF court trials and a pending Supreme Court case, justice remains elusive for Felani’s family, with the last hearing postponed due to COVID-19 in March 2020.
Labor and Employment Adviser Asif Mahmud Sajeeb Bhuiyan has taken responsibility for the family of Felani Khatun, the young girl whose tragic death at the India-Bangladesh border sparked international outrage 14 years ago.
The announcement came on Wednesday through the adviser’s verified Facebook page, marking a significant development in a case that has become a symbol of border violence. Felani Khatun, a 14-year-old girl, was fatally shot by India’s Border Security Force (BSF) at the Anantapur border in Phulbari upazila of Kurigram on January 7, 2011. Her body remained hanging on the barbed wire fence for five hours after the shooting.
The incident gained worldwide attention when photographs of Felani’s body suspended on the border fence were published in international media. Despite multiple legal proceedings, including two trials by BSF courts and a pending case in India’s Supreme Court, justice remains elusive for Felani’s family.
The case highlighted the broader issue of border violence along the India-Bangladesh frontier. “That day, the sovereignty of Bangladesh was hanging on the barbed wire. Through the July mass uprising, the policy of diplomatic subservience has been buried,” wrote one social media user responding to the adviser’s announcement.
The killing of Felani led Human Rights Watch to label the BSF as a “killer force” and drew attention to the broader pattern of border violence. Between 2001 and 2010, approximately 1,000 Bangladeshi civilians were killed by BSF personnel, with numerous cases of abuse, torture, and arbitrary detention reported along the border.
Nur Islam, Felani’s father, has been seeking justice for over a decade. The last scheduled hearing at India’s Supreme Court was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, and the family continues to await their day in court.
The adviser’s commitment to supporting Felani’s family represents a new chapter in this long-running case that has come to symbolize the ongoing tensions and human rights concerns along the Bangladesh-India border.
Source: Daily Inqulab
