In the wake of widespread criticism for the acquittal a BSF member of the charge of killing Bangladeshi girl Felani Khatun, Indian Border Security Force (BSF) has finally decided to revise the murder trial.The competent authority of BSF has not agreed with the findings of court that acquitted accused BSF constable Amiya Ghosh and decided to hold a revision trial in the instant case, according to a BSF press
release provided by Indian High Commission in Dhaka on Friday,. It said Felani Khatun was killed on Indo-Bangladesh international border in the area of Border Outpost Choudharyhat, Cooch Behar of West Bengal due to firing by Ct Amiya Ghosh of BSF Battalion-181.
“A General Security Force Court (GSFC) trial against Ct Amiya Ghosh of 181 Bn BSF, was held on a charge under section – 46 Bn BSF Act- 1968 for alleged killing of the Bangladeshi girl,” the BSF release added. The trial court found the accused Ct Amiya Ghosh ‘not guilty’, and pronounced findings on September 6. As per BSF Act and Rules, the proceedings were reviewed by legal experts, the release added.
Felani, 15, was shot dead by a BSF man while she was entering Bangladesh over the barbed-wire fences along Anantapur border point in Kurigram district on January 7, 2011, triggering a huge global outcry.
On September 6, the special court, constituted by the Indian Border Security (BSF), in its verdict acquitted the lone accused, BSF constable Amiya Ghosh, of the charge of killing Felani.
The verdict also drew strong criticisms. Describing the trial of the killing of Bangladeshi girl Felani by Indian Border Security Force (BSF) as a travesty of justice, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Dr Mizanur Rahman on Tuesday said this will encourage border killings by the BSF members. Home Minister Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir at a programme in Kurigram on September 7 lamented that the Felani murder verdict has failed to deliver justice. “The justice what we had expected about Felani was not ensured in the preliminary decision of the court.”
On the day, Law Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed said if the family members of Felani Khatun are aggrieved with the verdict delivered by the Indian special court acquitting the BSF constable of the charge of killing the girl, they should go for appeal against it.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Dr Dipu Moni said the government would appeal before the Indian court if justice is not served in the final verdict of the Felani killing case. Meanwhile, opposition BNP on
September 7 criticised the government for its submissive role in ensuring justice for the family of Bangladeshi girl Felani Khatun who was killed by a BSF constable. – UNB
