India and Bangladesh on Saturday have vouched to intensify their fight against border crime, smuggling and fight insurgent outfits.
On the concluding day of the four-day-long director-general level border coordination meeting, Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) also signed a joint record in this direction.
Officials in the BSF told Northeast Now that both the sides agreed to share real-time information with each other expeditiously through formal as well as informal channels regarding smuggling of Drugs and Narcotics, human trafficking, FICN, Cattle, arms, ammunition, information related to anti-social elements, activities of Indian insurgent groups.
BSF director general Rakesh Asthana said that death or apprehension of criminals on the border takes place irrespective of nationalities.
He further stated that BSF personnel fire with non-lethal weapons only in self-defence when they are surrounded by a large number of miscreants armed with dah, sticks etc, and their lives are endangered.
Asthana assured that the deadly incidents in the border will be reduced significantly in near future. Reiterating the need for joint efforts to uphold human rights and curbs violence on the border, both sides agreed to take extra precautionary measures along the border including intensifying public awareness programs, undertaking appropriate socio-economic development programs and real-time information sharing.
Asthana also suggested that an SOP could be drawn up early in mutual consultation to address the issue of the crossing of mentally challenged Indian nationals to Bangladesh.
“Humane issues which could expedite the disposal of such cases and alleviate the suffering of such people,” he said.
Both sides agreed to look after the humanitarian aspects of the victim first and then verify the nationality of the mentally challenged persons and thereafter handing and taking over can be expedited with cooperation from one another.
Both sides appreciated the efforts made to improve mutual relations through various agreed-upon Confidence Building Measures (CBMs).
All the agreed events undertaken earlier in CBMs will be resumed once the COVID-19 pandemic situation becomes normal.
Both sides agreed to hold the next DG level Border Conference in India.