This Blogspot is dedicated to the bravehearts of Border Security Force, the largest and the Best Border Guarding Force in the world. It contains news reports, articles and other posts available on the net at various websites. The news items and the articles are either about activities of BSF reported by the press or other articles which may be of interest to the Sajag Praharees of India.
An estimated 75 per cent of voting was recorded during re-polling in six centres of three Assam assembly constituencies today.
Election officials said voting was held in a peaceful manner between 7 am and 3 pm.
The Election Commission had ordered re-polling in these centres in Rangiya, Bhawanipur and Udalguri following disturbances during the second phase of the hustings on April 11.
At Rangiya, 83.43 per cent voters cast their votes today. Polling was suspended in the constituency following clashes between the voters and BSF men leading to injury of 22 people during police baton charge.
From The Hindu Monday, Apr 18, 2011
Poonch: Two Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were injured when an improvised explosive device went off near the Line of Control in Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday night, officials said on Sunday.
The powerful blast, triggered by militants, took place when the personnel were patrolling the Line of Control in the Sonagali area. The injured, Manoj Kumar and S.M. Patel, have been admitted to hospital, the officials said. — PTI http://www.hindu.com/2011/04/18/stories/2011041859620100.htm
From the Times Of India
April 18, 2011
A BSF jawan committed suicide today by hanging himself near the swimming pool of S N Medical College in Jodhpur. Jawan Pijas Dutta (32) of 34th batallion of BSF was the trainer at the swimming pool, which is managed by BSF. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/speednewsshow/8018290.cms
Ropar, April 17
BSF Jalandhar today won the Silver Jubilee Dashmesh Hawks All-India Hockey Festival final match by beating Punjab Police Jalandhar 5-4.
Punjab Police took an early lead in the 15th minute through Hardeep Singh to go 1-0 up. The BSF forward line made repeated attacks to score an equaliser, but Punjab Police’s defence stood their ground. The score at half-time read 1-0 in favour of Punjab Police, Jalandhar.
In the second half BSF continued to press and succeeded in getting an equaliser through Ranjit Singh in the 40th minute who capitalised on a defensive lapse by their opponents and scored to bring the match back to life.
Punjab Police again scored through a penalty corner, converted by Harmik Singh in 67th minute to lead 2-1. In the last minute of the match, BSF’s hero Ranjit Singh scored a field goal to equalise and make it 2-2. Both teams were locked after normal time and the match looked heading for a tie-breaker.
The organising committee decided that in view of the weather 7.5 minutes would be given to each side, with the golden goal rule in place, but still the deadlock remained. Then the tiebreaker rule was applied and BSF won the match 5-4. http://www.tribuneindia.com/2011/20110418/sports.htm#8
From Hindustan TimesNew Delhi, April 17, 2011 The north Delhi police have arrested a 29-year-old BSF personal for allegedly murdering a colleague a year back. He was having an affair with his colleague's wife and had been evading arrest for over a year. Police said Dinesh Kumar, who from Bhiwani in Haryana, was apprehended from Civil Lines on Friday. He had been staying in Rohini.
"Kumar and victim Bhawani Singh, both wrestlers, were serving in the BSF. Singh's family accompanied him at his posting in Silchar in Assam in 2009. Kumar got intimate with Singh's wife and the relation between the two men was strained due to this," said SS Yadav, Additional Commissioner of Police (North).
"In May 2010, Dinesh Kumar and his associates went to Taskola at the behest of Singh's wife Meena Kanwar. They killed Singh using his licensed rifle," the ACP added.
The wife of the deceased and other co-accused were later arrested for criminal conspiracy but Kumar managed to flee. He was staying in Rohini before getting arrested by the police.
She doesn’t look more than 25, yet her eyes are sunken and body is frail. Asma Bibi, who hails from Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, illegally crossed into India nine years back to smuggle saris — but got stuck in sex trade.
Most of the 300 sex workers in the Kalabagan red light area of Duliyan district in West Bengal have similar tales to tell.
“My mother was actually from Domkol (West Bengal), but she got married to my father in Bangladesh. When I was still young, father left us,” Asma said. “My mother was detected with blood cancer. Helpless, I got into smuggling of saris from India to Bangladesh,” she said.
BSF soldiers allegedly seek “sexual favours” from women such as Asma for letting them cross over. This cycle of regularly giving sexual favours for “free”, when sex workers charge money for the same, makes a number of women turn to sex trade.
From The Assam Tribune R Dutta Choudhury
GUWAHATI, April 16 – Security presence along the Assam-Bangladesh border will be augmented after the elections in West Bengal to improve border management, while, the joint survey of the disputed areas along the international border by surveyors of both the countries resumed recently to settle the disputes permanently.
Highly-placed sources in the Border Security Force (BSF) told The Assam Tribune that the decision to increase the strength of the BSF along the international border has already been taken, but the process of deployment of additional forces would take some time as troops have been engaged in assisting the civil administration in maintaining law and order in the elections.
Sources said that at present, three battalions of the BSF have been deployed in Dhubri sector of the international border, which has 134 kilometres of international border including 49.5 kilometres of riverine border. As the riverine border is always considered most vulnerable as installation of any physical barrier is not possible in the area, the new battalion would be used mainly for augmenting security along the riverine border. Sources revealed that as the troops of the BSF are now on election duty in West Bengal, the new battalion would be deployed as soon as the elections in that state are over.
BSF sources said that border management in the Tura sector covering South and West Garo Hills improved considerably after deployment of one additional battalion last year. The area has 206 kilometres of international border with Bangladesh and at present five battalions of the border guarding force have been deployed to guard the international border in the area. Sources revealed that the Shillong sector of the international border covering West and East Khasi Hills and Jayantiya Hills has 237 kilometres of international border and four battalions of BSF are deployed in the area.
Meanwhile, the joint survey of the adverse possession areas, which was suspended in January this year because of non-cooperation by the Bangladesh Rifles personnel in some parts, resumed on April 5 and if the process can be completed without any major hitch this time, there is possibility of permanent solution to the problem.
Though the primary responsibility of the BSF is to guard the international border, troops of the force are often engaged in law-and-order duties and in the recently concluded polls in the state, 110 companies of the BSF were deployed. Forces were brought from Jammu and Kashmir and some forces were also withdrawn from the border to be engaged in election duties.
After the elections in Assam, the additional BSF personnel brought in to Assam have been sent to West Bengal for election duties. http://www.assamtribune.com/scripts/detailsnew.asp?id=apr1711/at08
Bangla speaking people from different areas of Bangladesh and India throng Betna border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon district to avail the 'once a year' opportunity to meet their dear and near ones across the border on Friday as the BGB and Indian BSF give the opportunity unofficially on Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year (as per Bangla calendar of India). Photo: STARQuamrul Islam Rubaiyat, Thakurgaon
Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year (as per Bangla calendar of India) on Friday, presented a different scene on Betna border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon district as thousands of Bangla speaking people from two sides of the border got a unique opportunity to meet their relatives for some time.
Standing on both sides of the barbed wire fence on the border, people from different districts of Bangladesh and India exchanged greetings and talked heartily with their near and dear ones. They were seen exchanging various things like biscuits, chanachur, pens, clothes and towels.
Seeing near and dear ones after a long time, many of them could not check their tears.
Bangla speaking people from different areas of Bangladesh and India throng Betna border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon district to avail the 'once a year' opportunity to meet their dear and near ones across the border on Friday as the BGB and Indian BSF give the opportunity unofficially on Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year (as per Bangla calendar of India). Photo: STARQuamrul Islam Rubaiyat, Thakurgaon
Pahela Baishakh, the first day of Bangla New Year (as per Bangla calendar of India) on Friday, presented a different scene on Betna border in Haripur upazila of Thakurgaon district as thousands of Bangla speaking people from two sides of the border got a unique opportunity to meet their relatives for some time.
Standing on both sides of the barbed wire fence on the border, people from different districts of Bangladesh and India exchanged greetings and talked heartily with their near and dear ones. They were seen exchanging various things like biscuits, chanachur, pens, clothes and towels.
Seeing near and dear ones after a long time, many of them could not check their tears.
A large number of people in both countries, especially those who cannot afford the expenditure to visit their relatives across the border through legal procedure, eagerly wait for this special day when local public representatives from two sides make the arrangement with the help of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and Indian Border Security Force (BSF).
Altafur Rahman, 50, of Chowrangi village under Haripur upazila in Thakurgaon, came here to meet with his brother-in-law Sirazul Islam, who lives in Paharpur of Uttar Dinajpur district in India. It is six years that they met last.
Bikash Roy, 35, of Shiliguri in India came here to meet his father while Ananta Bala, 32, of Farabari village came to meet her brother and sisters.
BSF opened the door of the barbed wire fence around 1:30pm for an hour to facilitate people to come to the border.
"Every year on this day people from both sides come here to meet with their relatives. We make the arrangement through discussion with the BSF," said a BGB official.
"As residents of the same country, many people living in different areas were related in various ways for long. But the 1947 partition and creation of India and the then Pakistan made it hard for people to meet their friends and relatives living on the other side of the border. We make the unofficial arrangement for their meeting with the help of BGB and BSF officials," said Nazrul Islam, chairman of Haripur union parishad.
Similar reunion of Bangla speaking people from India and Bangladesh
2011-04-17
Murshidabad (West Bengal), April 17 (IANS) She doesn't look more than 25, yet her eyes are sunken and body is frail. Asma Bibi, who hails from Rajshahi district of Bangladesh, illegally crossed into India nine years ago to smuggle saris - but got sucked into the dark world of sex trade.
Most of the 300 sex workers in the Kalabagan red light area of Duliyan district in West Bengal have similar tales in which smuggling and sex are intertwined. Around 13 of them are from Bangladesh.
'My mother was actually from Domkol (West Bengal), but she got married to my father in Bangladesh and that's where I was born. When I was still young, father left us,' Asma told IANS, sitting at an NGO-run night shelter on the river bank.
Dhubri (Assam), April 16
The Border Security Force personnel guarding the 134-km-long India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of western Assam face tough time in checking rampant smuggling of cattle from Indian side to Bangladesh by smugglers, who get help from local immigrant population living in numerous river isles in the area.
Clashes between the BSF jawans and cattle smugglers have been on the rise in recent times and the border guards often have to resort to gunfire to stop the cattle smugglers from transporting the cattle to Bangladesh or to disperse the village mobs, which often come out in defence of the cattle smugglers. The cattle are being brought from faraway places in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, and Bihar, as smugglers pay very high price.
From New Kerala
Jammu, Apr 16: An army jawan among two persons were injured when a land mine exploded in forward area along Line of Control (LoC) in bordering Poonch district of Jammu and Kashmir, official sources here said.
"An army jawan and a BSF trooper got critically injured when a device exploded at around 1930 hrs in Sona Wali Gali near Sangreela Post in Mankote Sector, when the jawans on patrol duty inadvertently stepped over the mine," official sources here told UNI.
"The jawans identified as Sepoy Manoj Kumar of 5 Maratha Li and Sepoy S M Patil of 79 BSF were seriously wounded and they were immediately shifted to Poonch hospital," they added.
