Bangladeshis killed at border were mostly criminals: BSF DG

Director General of India's Border Security Force (BSF) Pankaj Kumar Singh has said that most of the Bangladeshis killed in BSF firing on the Bangladesh-India border were criminals.

"There are both good and bad people on both sides of the border. Only the bad guys, who were involved in various crimes, were killed at the border. They include smugglers, drug dealers and traffickers," the BSF DG said in response to questions from reporters after the BGB-BSF director general (DG) level 52nd Border Conference at Pilkhana on Thursday (21 July).

Bangladesh Border Guard (BGB) Director General Major General Sakil Ahmed and BSF Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh presided over the conference.

In response to another question regarding how he can call those killed at the borders criminals and whether shooting above knee level is not a targeted killing, he said, "We cannot call anyone a criminal until the judicial system declares it or any crime is committed. We cannot just label people as criminals."

"However, by talking to the DMP, Kolkata Police and border intelligence agencies, we exchanged information on those killed by BSF firing on the border and identified them as criminals. All crimes at the border are controlled by the mafias of the two countries", he added.

Pankaj Kumar Singh said that only those involved in trafficking of children and women try to cross the border illegally.

So far, 89 BSF personnel have been seriously injured while preventing border infiltration and smuggling.

"We have started using non-lethal weapons to bring down border killings to zero. Our relationship with BGB is better than ever. We will work together on border security", he said.

Five people have been killed on the border so far this year (till June).

When asked why killings on the border are not coming down to zero yet, the director general of BSF said that the relationship between India and Bangladesh is very different, different from western countries.

"We are constantly discussing various border issues at the level of officials of different ranks. Both countries have good and bad people. Only the bad guys were killed at the border", he added.