Sections of Bangladeshi mass media now provide generous coverage to the frequently scathing comments made by TMC leaders from Ms Mamata Banerjee to MPs like Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, condemning the BSF for its alleged excesses along the Indo-Bangla border and its actions against smugglers and criminals.

Since the TMC won power in Bengal in 2011, the state government and the BSF have been involved in unseemly political battles over centrally proposed security measures along the tortuous Bangladesh border, illegal infiltration and related issues. A political dimension to most such matters was unavoidable , given the state’s 35% Muslim population (approx.) .

Even in normal times not dominated by elections, the BSF used to be on precarious, more sensitive ground in Bengal, unlike in Assam. It cannot and could not, count on any sort of ‘support’ for its operations except from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). There is a scramble to win the maximum Muslim votes among other major parties — the TMC, Congress, and the various Left forces led by the CPI(M).

The systematic side-lining of the secular, non-BJP parties by the ruling TMC , which always denied them minimum functioning political space, has resulted in the Muslims always voting big for Ms Banerjee in all major elections between 2011 and the present.

And it is undeniable that the majority of persons/people killed or otherwise punished in BSF border operations happen to be Muslims living on both sides of the border. While a barbed wire fence defines the international border stretching over nearly 4093 kilometres, only in West Bengal is has not been possible to complete the fencing. Over 360 kilometres in Cooch-Behar and nearby areas of North Bengal remain unguarded.

The reason: despite the BSF and Centre pleading for years, the Bengal government has not handed over the land /plots needed to complete the fencing project. Such a situation never arose in Assam or Tripura. Both states have reported a bog drop in border related crimes like smuggling, drugs peddling, illegal arms sales or human trafficking — unlike in West Bengal .

The prolonged inaction on part of Bengal Government in handing over land to ensure a more effective border area management and economic development in the interior has naturally exposed the TMC government to strong BJP criticism. It has been alleged that powerful political lobbies linked to top TMC leaders have a major illegal financial stake in ensuring the flourishing of drugs /human trafficking, cattle and gold smuggling, illegal movements/transits of people and cargoes etc.

A powerful anti-social chain of interest/mafia dominating border crimes first mentioned by the late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi continues to function to this day.

Its tentacles are spread over major states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Maharashtra and Gujarat, with linkmen operating out of Dubai and the UAE. Significantly, apart from mid-level political leaders of the TMC, nearly a score of fairly senior officials based in North India have been arrested in recent times in connexion with the numerous financial scams involving the TMC government in Bengal.

The bottom line: GOI/ BSF crackdowns against organised crime must not succeed and new ways must be found to keep the various crime syndicates alive. From Prime minister Mr Narendra Modi downwards, various BJP leaders in their recent statements have not hesitated to hold TMC leaders, some even accusing the party’s young MP Abhishek Banerjee himself, of being closely linked with the various crime syndicates that run cattle/coal/drugs smuggling, etc.

Demonising the BSF’s image naturally forms a part of the political discourse of certain parties, including the AIMIM led by Dr Asaduddin Owaisi, the AIUDF headed by Mr Badruddin Ajmal MP from Dhburi, as well as the TMC.

It comes as no surprise to read in the Bangladeshi media recent comments made by Ms Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar, TMC MP to Dhaka-based newspersons; referring to a recent incident on the border where a Bangladeshi was allegedly shot dead by BSF sentries, Ms Dastidar was quoted as saying that the BSF was notorious for its inhuman activities and often resorted to violence in a deliberate manner even without adequate cause/provocation!

Such one-sided allegations made by supposedly responsible senior Indian politicians from Mamata Banerjee downwards, without carrying a minimum mandatory response/reaction from the BSF or Indian authorities, are naturally played up prominently in the Bangladeshi media. Border region killings involving the Indian BSF against Bangladeshis have always been an extremely sensitive issue in Dhaka.

In their obsessive opposition to the ruling BJP, some Indian politicians apparently think nothing of the damage they cause through their instant comments to Indo-Bangla diplomatic relations or the tensions that resident Indians working in Bangladesh have to face !

It needs stressing that the official Bangladeshi reaction in such matters have been reasonable so far. Awami League spokesmen and Foreign Ministry mandarins admit that such killings are very distressing and unfortunate for Bangladesh. The BSF has been requested at the highest level not to resort to such firings except in emergencies. The use of rubber bullets have been suggested. While the casualties have come down of late, the shootings have not ceased. Dhaka insists that even suspected criminals can be arrested and punished through other means without necessarily shooting people.

The Indian government has always promised action and it was hoped that things would improve.

However, the ground situation may not change soon. As HR groups and opposition parties in Bangladesh allege, there has been little progress in improving the situation along the border. Delhi must be more responsive.

The BSF on its part insists that it resorts to firing only when armed miscreants resort to using firearms, resulting in the death/serious injuries to many jawans and border guards through planned mob violence/ambushes in many pockets. (IPA Service)