Lawyers and human rights activists have expressed concern over comments made by Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed regarding the killing of Bangladeshis over the years by India’s Border Security Force (BSF).
They said unarmed civilians crossing the border between India and Bangladesh are frequently killed near the boundary. India’s BSF have reportedly shot Bangladeshis under various allegations. Critics fear the home minister’s remarks could be interpreted by the Indian forces as justification.
There is no doubt that border killings remain a serious issue in Bangladesh-India bilateral relations. Every year, Bangladesh requests India to halt killings at the border. India has repeatedly pledged not to use lethal weapons at the border but has failed to prevent such incidents.
On Tuesday at the Secretariat, in response to a question about border killings, the home minister said, “If another country’s forces come to our border or the zero line and commit killings, that can be called border killing. But if someone is involved in any offence within our territory or theirs, such as illegal trespassing, it is for their own laws to address. It would not be correct to call that border killing.”
Human rights activist Nur Khan told TIMES of Bangladesh, “Whether inside Bangladesh, on the zero line, or within India, the way unarmed Bangladeshis are shot cannot be described as anything other than border killings.”
He added that such remarks expose the government’s weakness and could be misused by various parties.
According to a report by the legal and human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK), 34 Bangladeshis were killed by Indian border forces in 2025, of whom 24 died from gunfire and 10 following torture.
In 2024, 30 were killed; 2023, 31; 2022, 23; and 2021, 18. Additionally, in 2025 at the Sylhet border, at least 12 Bangladeshis were killed by members of the Khasi community.
The Manobadhikar Sangskritik Foundation (MSF) said that eight people were killed at the border in April this year, rising to ten in May.
Research-based organisation Sokol Praner Nirapotta (Sopran) stated that in 2025 the number of Bangladeshis killed by the BSF along the Bangladesh-India border was the highest in the past five years.
Human rights activist Ilira Dewan said, “Any killing is a human rights violation. Even if someone has broken rules or international law, they still have the right to legal protection.”
Criticising the home minister’s remarks, she said, “When such statements come from responsible authorities, the forces may become even more aggressive. Given how they already violate international law and fire on our citizens, it makes our people even more vulnerable.”
Sheikh Hafizur Rahman Karzon, law professor at Dhaka University, told the TIMES, “The issue is that if any trafficker, drug offender, or listed criminal is killed by the BSF or BGB, the government will take no action. That is the point being made.”
