THE Indian Home Ministry on Wednesday has blamed the father of Bangladeshi teenager Felani for her murder by a BSF Jawan in a shootout in 2011 as news reports in national dailies said yesterday. The blame game appears to be quite unfortunate as no father can push his daughter to the line of fire. But the comment seems to be an uneasy response to the verdict of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of India on Monday in which it has not only directed the Home Ministry to pay Rs 5 lakhs in compensation to Felani’s family within next six weeks but also gave the clear opinion that the killing of the unarmed girl while trespassing the border was illegal. The Commission said available evident proved that the Jawan has acted violating the Border Guards Law.
But it is not quite clear why the Indian Home Ministry instead of showing respect to the NHRC’s verdict, which apparently brought a highly dismaying matter for the Indian government closer to a respectable solution, appealed to the Commission to keep the issue of compensation in abeyance. Particularly when the father of the girl said he was not hungry for money. He wants justice. The Commission has however rejected the plea upholding the fact that justice can be delayed but not denied. The BSF court on two previous occasions acquitted the Jawan who killed Felani citing ‘inconclusive and insufficient’ evidences but the Home Ministry this time found the Commission’s verdict quite disappointing and closer to giving the ultimate justice to Felani’s family.
It appears that since the Home Ministry controls BSF as they guard the borders, a sense of impunity is working everywhere and the BSF court upheld that ego in their trial process. They kill Bangladeshi nationals regularly in borders without facing any accountability; why a Jawan should face trial for killing a poor girl. Thus the Indian Home Ministry’s attempt to delay the compensation with perhaps a last minute intent to derail the process of justice has come as a big shock to the people of Bangladesh who feel utterly frustrated from such mentality of a close and friendly neighbour.
The people of Bangladesh were terribly shocked when BSF shot the girl dead and held her hanging in the barbed wire for several hours. The killers treated her not like a human being but the Indian Home Ministry’s attempt to delay the accountability process showed similar lack of humanity. We can’t believe senior Indian leaders can shelter such barbarity which only heartless people can shelter and foster, India as a huge democratic nation must prove its human values, particularly not obstructing justice to the family of the poor girls.
It cannot be good for India if the people of Bangladesh come to believe that not to take Bangladesh seriously and ignore the people’s feelings on humanitarian issues has become too easy a matter for India.
