In the first month of 2020 alone, 12 Bangladeshi nationals were killed at the India-Bangladesh border at the hands of Indian border guards.
Though India has promised to stop border killings, it has raised concerns in Bangladesh.
Border killings are not being stopped despite bilateral discussions at the summit between the two governments at the government level and repeated discussions at the BGB-BSF conference.
Indians have pledged to stop the use of deadly weapons and deaths at the border.
There was also a promise from the top echelons of the Indian government that border killings would be brought down to zero.
Former Ambassador M Humayun Kabir said, "When a promise comes from the highest level of government, it is expected that the promise will be implemented in practice.
It is very clear that the protests, concerns or requests of Bangladesh at the BGB or government level are not very useful.
Criticism is also being leveled at how much pressure Bangladesh is putting on India to stop border killings.
"It is the responsibility of the government to protect any people in Bangladesh. If our voice was a little louder here, maybe India would also be a little more active," said Humayun Kabir.
Meanwhile, in the last five years, border killings have decreased in 2016, but it has tripled in 2019.
According to the human rights organization Law and Arbitration Center, the number of people killed at the border in 2016 was 14, which has increased to 43 in 2019.
Another statistic of the organization shows that 158 ​​Bangladeshis have died at the border in the five years from 2015 to 2019.
On an average, one Bangladeshi dies every 12 days at the hands of Indian border guards.
Nina Goswami, senior deputy director of the Law and Arbitration Center, said killing was not desirable even if someone committed a crime at the border.
"This (border killing) must come down to zero. We want to see an environment where there is no border killing, and such a good relationship with our neighboring state."
India wants to build a barbed wire fence along the entire border with Bangladesh
BSF's argument for 'self-defense'
The BSF's argument in almost every case of shootings and deaths at the border is self-defense.
Asked how India views the killings and how much pressure the BSF puts on Bangladesh's activities, Samir Mitra, a retired DIG of the Indian Border Security Force (BSF), said there was no pressure on them.
"Everyone has the right to self-defense. I have no right to be in uniform today. It would be unfortunate if people had such an idea."
"I am also at the border. Where I am trying to cut the fence of Katatar, my administration will take action against me tomorrow if I do not take action."
However, Border Guard Bangladesh said that the BSF's argument in the case of border killings was not acceptable.
In an interview with the BBC, a BGB official said they were concerned about the rise in Bangladeshi killings at the border this month and were protesting strongly against each killing.
India is not in a state of war between Bangladesh but the two countries are now proud of the harmony and good relations. But the question is why the India-Bangladesh border is one of the deadliest borders in the world as a death.
