The surrender programme, organised by 16 BGB Naogaon Battalion, took place at Porsha upazila’s Nitpur border outpost.
BGB Rajshahi Sector Commander Lt Col Tuhin Md Masud received letter of surrender from the smugglers.
Lt Colonel Tuhin said, “We feel bad when we see our people are arrested and tortured in other country and the bodies are sent back with gunshot wounds. The border guards never want the people of the bordering region to live in distress.”
“We’re working to protect you,” the BGB commander said.
Lt Col Tuhin said the incumbent government has taken a tough stance to stop crimes along the border. “The BGB will not allow any activities that tarnish the country’s image,” he said.
India’s trigger-happy Border Security Force has killed and tortured hundreds of Bangladeshis over the years. Deaths along the border have not come down despite Delhi’s repeated assurance.
Data compiled by Odhikar, a human rights organisation, show that 1,185 Bangladeshis were killed by BSF between 2000 and 2019. During this period, 1,118 were tortured, 1,401 others were abducted and 15 were raped.