Sadharon Sanatani Peshajibi Forum, an association of professionals who are followers of Sanatan Dharma, or Hinduism, has demanded justice for Bangladeshi girl Shwarna Das, 13, who was killed by Border Security Force (BSF) of India on September 1.
A statement signed by Debashish Mallik Simanto, convener and coordinator of the forum, also condemned the practice of indiscriminate firing at the border on mere criminal suspicion (without evidence).
“We strongly criticized the Indian side for trying to mislead people by spreading misinformation on social media and demanded that the Government of India (Centre and State) conduct an impartial investigation into the extrajudicial killings of the BSF personnel who are directly involved in the incident.
“Since this atrocious human rights violation occurred on the international border, we also recommend the concerned authorities of Bangladesh government to seek the intervention of the international community to ensure the maximum punishment of the offenders and also to provide compensation to the victim's family to ensure fair trial,” read the statement.
“We the members and well-wishers of the organization declared that such killings of people at any border irrespective of caste-religion-gender are extremely alarming and condemnable,” it added.
The statement further stated that “only because of the culture of impunity, the real criminals are getting away and the killing of innocent people is increasing every year. With this incident of Shwarna Das murder, we are starting to specifically monitor such killings on the border. India and Bangladesh will have to answer to us if such brutal incidents happen in the future or if any political tricks are played with Swarna Das murder or if our recommendations are not taken into consideration. All members and well-wishers of Sadharon Sanatani Peshajibi Forum will not hesitate to strictly adopt all possible legal means for this accountability.”
Shwarna Das, daughter of Porendra Das from Kalnigar village in Paschim Juri union under Juri upazila of Moulvibazar district, was shot dead by BSF troops on September 1.
Porendra Das said that his eldest son lives in Tripura, India. Shwarna and her mother attempted to cross into India to visit his son on Sunday night through the Lalarchak border with the assistance of two local brokers. Upon reaching the fence on the Indian side around 9 pm, BSF personnel opened fire, resulting in Swarna’s immediate death. Swarna’s mother narrowly escaped the incident.