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Tuesday, November 15, 2011

RE: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?



The killings of Muslim leaders/caliphs does not demean the religion. It has been going on in human civilizations. All leaders have/had their detractors who used such means like killings, to get rid of their opponents. Islam had its share too. No use concocting unverified stories to malign these leaders. For example what message are you spreading when you state that  "Even the prophet died under dubious conditions and did not get janaja.  The Shias insist that he was killed by two of his wives, daughters of the first two Caliphs?" At least you are 'impressed' if not by the depth of knowledge and faith, but by 'depth of ignorance (sic)'. Branding any one who speaks for Islam as a mullah does not show ones depth of knowledge either!

Mustafizur Rahman


To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
From: qrahman@netscape.net
Date: Tue, 15 Nov 2011 14:44:33 -0500
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 

Even the prophet died under dubious conditions and did not get janaja.


>>>>> SOURCES PLEASE???

-----Original Message-----
From: Kamal Das <kamalctgu@gmail.com>
To: mukto-mona <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Tue, Nov 15, 2011 9:31 am
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 
If Mr. Mustafizur Rahman does not see that the dominant contemporary religions are based on the geocentric model of the universe, and sees the ancient and medieval periods were not bad periods, no debate is possible.  Nobody can single a period that was good.  As he is a believer in Islam, may I point out that out of the four 'rightly guided' Caliphs, the first one was poisoned to death while the rest were killed. While Omar was bleeding to death, he requested the majlis members not to make his son the Caliph under any condition.  Usman was killed by a group of assassins in the mosque while reading the 'holy' Koran, and Ali was speared to death.  The killers of Usman asked Ali to take over the Caliphate, his dead body was left without a janaja for days.  Even the prophet died under dubious conditions and did not get janaja.  The Shias insist that he was killed by two of his wives, daughters of the first two Caliphs. 

I am really impressed by the depth of ignorance of these mullahs who are using this forum to spread the 'values' of Islam.

2011/11/14 MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN <mustafiz84@hotmail.com>
 
Equal opportunity critic to all religions? Why? Why criticize all religions? Medieval period was not a bad period. In English literature this word is at times used in a negative sense. Human progress went through - as the West has categorized it - stages like iron period, bronze period, medieval period etc. Can you single out one period that was bad? If you disbelieve in the very existence of God, that is a different matter. But what will you do with the billions of people who do believe in the existence of a Creator and seek His assistance?

Mustafizur Rahman


To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
From: qrahman@netscape.net
Date: Sun, 13 Nov 2011 14:36:52 -0500

Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 

You have been sharing orientalist myths about Islam. Modern day scholars do not buy these any more. Such orientalists also spread lies against Hindus as well. Which prompted Swami Vivekananda to visit USA over hundred years ago. He went there to answer to those myths and explain his faith to the west.

Over and over I have asked you to share SOURCES of your info but only got unclear answers. Please clarify your positions or take this opportunity to learn something new.

Peace.


-----Original Message-----
From: Kamal Das <kamalctgu@gmail.com>
To: mukto-mona <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sun, Nov 13, 2011 8:39 am
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 
I do not spread venom against Islam.  I am an 'equal opportunity' critic to all religions, and every medieval tendency to invoke God as an answer to all problems.   I refer to historical facts when some 'religious' men use this forum to spread Islam.

2011/11/12 MUSTAFIZUR RAHMAN <mustafiz84@hotmail.com>
 
Kamal Das, Jiten Roy etc,

Will you STOP taking advantage of this Forum and refrain from spreading your venom against Islam?

Mustafizur Rahman


To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
From: kamalctgu@gmail.com
Date: Fri, 11 Nov 2011 08:07:31 +0600

Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 
The core message was not convincing enough even to Abu Talib, the mentor and the protector of the prophet.  The mesage is to obtain 72 houries and 28 gillmans in the afterlife with an everlasting erection.  Even Ibn Sina wondered, how the prophet, being the intelligent man that he was, spread such rubbish.  Then he came up with his own intelligent solution!  Consider the intelligence of the average people of medieval times, and you have the answer.

About the animal sacrifice, it is the practice in many cultures.  The poor animal dies to serve the religion.  In the primitive times, the first  child was to be sacrificed as an expiation to the cardinal sin from which every child is born.  Abraham himself was a butcher in the temple of Melech.  As he was not sure of his fatherhood of his children, given his age and inability to sire any during his life, he exiled Ismael and Hagar to Mecca, and took Isaac to sacrifice as burnt offering to Moloch.  But he changed his mind later and told the Canaanites that God intervened in the last moment.  Abraham was used to telling lies.  Earlier he passed Sarah as his sister to gain material advantages. 

Animal sacrifice has been a common practice across the world. There was no cheaper way to feed people in feasts.  Cow sacrifice by Indian Muslims are intended only to anoy the local Hindus.  Such practice is not the Arabian norm.


On Thu, Nov 10, 2011 at 4:48 PM, sentu tikadar <sentu92003@yahoo.com> wrote:
 

You are right these were acts of half educated idiots who do not understand the core message of Islam.
 
What is the core message ?

 What is the core message of Islam?
 
Tolerance to other Faiths? 
 
Deny others' Faiths and indirectly condemn others' Faiths five times a day? And  brain washing five times per day (like advertisement) later the uncivilised indisciplined Beduin forget  Mohammad ?  So much endeavour to be remembered by ppeople just like a politician sex maniac.
 
What is the teaching? Killing people who would not accept his Faith and used the women of the defeated people. Told something good in Mecca and the same thing told in a reversed way in Medina.  He had written( actually by other) a Book copied from other Book (Bible) because he knew he could not write a completely new  Book out of nothing.So he had taken the easiest and ready- made way. Just Copy and relate him with taht Book's men. So intelligent he was. 
 
Just see the Qurbani in Idd? How people can cut throat the cow which he garlanded with flowers? Giving flowers garland means showing respect to it? After showing respect and / or love it is cut. Desert culture has ruined us. It had divided us. It had killed us. It had made us animals from human. That's why Saudi never allows other to follow their religions in open? In Kashmir, In Pakistan, in Bangladesh , even in India (Deganga of West Bengal) temples' deities demolition is a noble job.
 
They don't feel any pity to that cow? In Pakistan some children stay night with the cow or goat putting flower garlands around its neck. In the morning that animal is cut throat? Height of cruelty !!!  This is the culture mid east had given to us. We borrowed the hard religion from desert while we were not the desert people. 
Is this the teaching of real Allah? Giving pain to a living being Allah feels happy? Don't believe that Allah who is biased. Allah is not a democratic fellow? So the believers of that Allah can not be democratic. That's why most of the Allah believers democratic country are failed country. Who will accept Allah he must be ruled with iron hand otherwise he will loose faiths. So many trics Mahammad had understood and apllied. A real dictator of 1400 years ago. 











     
 
 
--- On Thu, 11/10/11, qar <qrahman@netscape.net> wrote:

From: qar <qrahman@netscape.net>

Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Date: Thursday, November 10, 2011, 5:47 AM


 
Killing of the Ahmediyas by the followers of Mowdoodi in Pakistan, killing and raping of freedom loving Bengalis in 1971, bombing of mosques to kill innocent Shiites in Pakistan and Iraq and somewhere else----are all these the acts by the secularists?

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> You are right these were acts of half educated idiots who do not understand the core message of Islam.

However atheist people have done more murdering of innocents than any religious people. Stalin, Mao (Of china) etc done their part in killing anyone who had a different point of view.
-----Original Message-----
From: subimal chakrabarty <subimal@yahoo.com>
To: mukto-mona <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Thu, Nov 10, 2011 6:37 am
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 
Killing of the Ahmediyas by the followers of Mowdoodi in Pakistan, killing and raping of freedom loving Bengalis in 1971, bombing of mosques to kill innocent Shiites in Pakistan and Iraq and somewhere else----are all these the acts by the secularists?

From: S A Hannan <sahannan@sonarbangladesh.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Wednesday, November 9, 2011 2:16 AM
Subject: RE: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?
 
Respected all,
Atheists and secularists (who believe in naturalism and rationalism only and who deny role of religion in public life) are more menace to humanity, morality, civilization as history shows. Most of the wars including first and second great wars were waged by them.
Most of the people of religions are good people. Many of them are misguided by secular political leaders or some ignorant and aggressive religious bigots.
Religious people of all religions should fight these exploiters and stand for humanity, morality and social welfare.
 
Shah Abdul Hannan
 
From: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com [mailto:mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf Of Jiten Roy
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 6:42 AM
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?
 
 
@Nihar Singh:
 
The true religious people - who are they? Whether they bother anybody or not - is not the issue. The issue is how much is their contribution towards the advancement of the modern society? Are people, who take part in the communal riots or blowup innocent people in the name of religion, any less religious? You may think so - but they don't.
 
@Kamal Das:
The New Testaments does not contain many of the violent verses of the Old Testament means these are not absolute truth. This is the point I am trying to make.
 
Thanks.
 
 
From: nihar singh <nihar_singh786@yahoo.com>
To: mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 10:49 AM
Subject: Re: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?

 
Truely religious people dont disturb anyone. On the other hand atheists try to make everyone atheists. That is true menace. Look at darwin he made everyone think that they eveolved from apes. Many jokers believe this to be true.



--- On Mon, 11/7/11, Jiten Roy <jnrsr53@yahoo.com> wrote:

From: Jiten Roy <jnrsr53@yahoo.com>
Subject: [mukto-mona] Are some religious people menaces in the society?
To: "Mukto-mona" <mukto-mona@yahoogroups.com>
Date: Monday, November 7, 2011, 7:12 PM
Are some religious people menaces in the society?
 
I have been asking this question lately to myself. I tried to find the roles and contributions (I mean, real contributions) of religious people in the society that brought us here from the beginning of time. What I envisioned is that - religion played a very insignificant role towards our social, moral, and scientific developments in this world. Most of these developments are made by religiously indifferent people. The religious people mostly deal with and talk about things that are out of this world. As a result, many of these religious people are misfits and menaces in the society.
 
Many argue that religion builds our moral character, and we learn good and bad from religion, etc. etc. I, on the other hand, think – good and bad we learn from our ancestors, and from our own experiences; religion has nothing to do with it. You might ask where our ancestors learned them from, in the first place. They learned good and bad from their ancestors' experiences, so on, and so forth. Most Chinese do not have any religion. When I asked a Chinese man - how most people there learn about good and bad without religion, he told me - they learn them from their elders' wisdoms. That's right; our ancestors transferred their knowledge and wisdom to us. Therefore, I truly believe – this world would have been a much better place without religion. Religions have divided us into many sectarian hateful clans, which are constantly fighting with one another.
 
Many of us believe that religious doctrines and dogmas are heavenly absolute entities. They forget that - many of those doctrines, dogmas, and interpretations have already been modified from the original preaching during emancipation. For example, Old Testament has been replaced by the New Testament, many Quranic interpretations have been changed, and many Vedic/Puranic practices and interpretations have been changed, etc., etc. That means - religious teachings and practices are subject to change with the time, which means they are not so heavenly endowments as we believe them to be. This is a critical point to remember. Those who think otherwise are the menaces in the society.
 
Jiten Roy









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[ALOCHONA] Juma Khutba: Must it Be In Arabic? [1 Attachment]

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Juma Khutba: Must it Be In Arabic?

  by Mufti Dr. A Rahman


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[ALOCHONA] BSF Killings: Blood On The Border



BSF Killings: Blood On The Border



http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ne151011BLOOD.asp#

Cattle smugglers, farmers, daily wagers, 13-year-olds. Hundreds have been shot by the Border Security Force. In the name of self-defence. Tusha Mittal tracks the extra-judicial killings in one district along Indo-Bangladesh border


In the space between two countries, along the stretch of the Indo-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Murshidabad district, there is a kind of irreverence for boundaries — of nationality, of legality, of life and death itself.

Jinnah is one of the many children ferrying cows across the border as part of an illegal cattle trade, valued by insiders at Rs 5,000 crore. While the trade is a major source of livelihood in one of Bengal's poorest districts, it has also led to extra-judicial killings by the Border Security Force (BSF).

Three key players make up the cattle trade. The ghatiyal — the entrepreneur, the owner of cows and controller of capital. The dalal — the broker who connects complicit authorities with cattle smugglers. There are BSF dalals, police dalals, and customs dalals. Collectively, the brokers are known as The Commission. To arrange the cattle crossover, The Commission can be contacted either by BSF constables or the ghatiyal. On an average, "the BSF allows cows to pass 10 days a month," a BSF broker told TEHELKA on condition of anonymity. And finally, there is the rakhal — the labourer who ferries cows across the border, the bearer of the greatest risk and smallest profit. Wages are paid only when the rakhal returns to India, having successfully delivered cows to designated huts in Bangladesh. The rakhal can be caught by the BSF, be shot at point-blank, or be killed in border firing. Cows seized from the rakhal are handed over to the Customs. Though protocol demands an open auction of cows, Customs officials are known to sell the cows back to the smugglers at a higher rate, cutting their own fee.

Beyond these three categories, there is greater milling. There are rakhals forming groups, pooling in funds, acting as ghatiyals; there are ghatiyals with smaller businesses, employing labour, and yet compelled to cross the border themselves as rakhals.

While the cattle trade is illegal in India, the sale of Indian cows in Bangladesh is legal and taxable. Cows are herded into Murshidabad from Punjab, Bihar and Haryana and sold at weekly markets dotting the border.

With an average sale of about 1,000 cows in 20 such goru haats in Murshidabad, nearly 20,000 cows gather at India's eastern tip every month. With the price of beef nearly double in Bangladesh, it is unlikely that the cows are going anywhere else.

"There is subsistence level of petty cattle smuggling where the border is not fenced," BSF South Bengal Inspector General RK Ponoth told TEHELKA. "But it is not smuggling in the true sense. The BSF personnel are trying their best to prevent it." Yet, he later admits that the BSF is compelled to fire at smugglers. "There is no law that permits us to open fire. But when the force is confronted with an aggressive criminal who attacks, they exercise their right to self-defence." This is what it means in a police FIR in Murshidabad, Raninagar police case 152/08, a copy of which is with TEHELKA: "Constable Harpal Singh got an injury in the right hand index finger. On sensing imminent danger to his life, he fired .03 rounds."

In recent years, the BSF has been compelled to acknowledge border firing after its counterpart, the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), accused it of killing unarmed Bangladeshi citizens. Last week, the BSF and BGB chiefs met in Dhaka, in the aftermath of PMManmohan Singh's high-profile visit to Bangladesh.

On record, BSF Director General Raman Srivastava admitted that 55 Bangladeshis have been killed since 2009 — 32 in 2010 and seven in 2011. "We fire in self-defence," he said.

There is no accurate data for the total killings along the entire Indo-Bangla border. Since 2007, Kolkata-based NGO Masum has documented 165 killings in just two districts of West Bengal — Murshidabad and North 24 Paraganas, accounting for 8 percent of the West Bengal- Bangladesh border. Masum has also filed at least 150 complaints before the National Human Rights Commission; 29 have been closed, and responses are still being awaited in 98. Another report by Dhaka-based NGO Odhikar puts the figure at 1,000 killings in the past 10 years along the entire border. According a 2010 report by Human Rights Watch, the BSF itself admits to killing 164 Indians and 347 Bangladeshis since 2006.

"We have agreed to ensure that no innocent civilian is shot by our troops," BSF DG Srivastava said in his March 2010 Dhaka visit. "We have no reason to fire at innocent civilians. We fire at criminals who violate border norms."

That itself is a violation of Indian and international law. Unlike the army, the BSF has no special powers allowing it impunity. It can only fire in self-defence. It is this right that is being misused. To understand how, survey the dead: Asif Iqbal, 13, and Shahin Sheikh, 15, killed while smuggling cows for Rs 200. Sumanta Mondal, 15, killed while plucking mustard on his fields after 5 pm. Sushanto Mandal, 15, chased by a BSF speedboat while swimming in a lake, and killed by its propeller blade.

"No BSF personnel has been arrested or held liable for any of these crimes," says Masum founder Kirity Roy. Under the Border Security Act, BSF personnel cannot be tried in civilian courts without prior approval from the Union home ministry. The Act gives supremacy to BSF's internal courts. Of the 30 extra- judicial killing cases that Masum is fighting in local courts, the BSF has had 16 transferred to their own internal court. It is not mandatory for the BSF to make the verdicts public.

India shares a 2,216-km porous border with Bangladesh. According to national security guidelines, the BSF outposts are meant to be 150 m from the zero line — the international border fencing. But in Murshidabad, not only is the fencing incomplete in many parts, the BSF outposts are located up to 8 km into Indian territory. It has created a de facto Line of Control; locals know it as the BSF road. Beyond it is a kind of No Man's Land – acres of paddy, potato and mustard. It is in this space that most killings happen. One such point has been renamed by locals as 'Kargil.'

"Our deployment is totally wrong," says BSF constable Amit Kumar. "I have never seen the zero line. This is called observation point. I should be observing Bangladesh but I am only observing farmland in India. Because there is no fencing at the actual border, the smuggling can go on easily."

IT IS past 9 pm near the Murshidabad border. Samrat Mondal, 15, is walking cattle three km from Paltondigri to Munshipara. The moon is silver, the soil a deep red. It is harvest season, and all along the mud path, tall mounds of jute stand upright, like sages. Tonight, Mondal will not cross the border. He will drop off the cows at a nearby collection point, earning Rs 100 per cow. "I'm scared," he says, panting, short of breath. "But I do it for the money." To ensure his safe arrival at the collection point, a ghatiyal has handed Mondal two square chits — a blue chit with a peacock symbol, and a yellow chit with a tiger symbol. Issued by the police and the Customs, these chits are Murshidabad's 'passports' — a sign that the police and Customs have received their due 'cut' and wish you a safe journey.

At the end of a village road, men in jeans and lungis are gathering the herd, waiting for a sign. Whether the rest will cross tonight depends on the BSF. With a cane stick and three cows, Mondal moves on. It is dark. The fog is dense, and in the distance, there is only the outline of man and animal.

When such cattle convoys are dispatched to Bangladesh with the sanction of BSF officials, it is known as a 'BSF line', or 'meet'. Many ghatiyals, however, prefer the second option — 'bypass' — when cows are sent dodging the guards. The greater risk brings greater profits. It can save the BSF 'cut' of up to Rs 5,000 per pair of cows. Part of this is used to lure youth. While the labourer's wage for the BSF line is usually Rs 500- Rs 1,000 per pair, those who are willing to 'bypass' can earn Rs 2,000- Rs 5,000.

Yet another variable complicates this: time. It can suddenly turn the 'meet' more profitable than the 'bypass'. "Imagine the number of cows that can be sent if the BSF opens the line for two hours," says a ghatiyal. "Sometimes, we can make up to Rs 2 lakh in one night."

From a city far away, the border is murky terrain where human trafficking, illegal migration, drug trade and infiltration of insurgents are rampant. Firing here can appear collateral damage, the inadvertent outcomes of a troubled border.

But on the night of 5 May 2009, Abdus Samad wasn't even at the border. He was asleep in his hut 10 km away. Working as a labourer in Kolkata, he had returned to Lalgola to vote in the 2009 Lok Sabha elections. "At 3 am, BSF jawans barged into our hut and dragged him out," says his wife Rima Bewa. The next morning, she found his body under a tree inside a BSF camp. "He was killed while smuggling cows on the border," she was told.

IN THE cattle trade, several flashpoints can trigger a killing. At times it is infighting, or lack of coordination — as when one outpost allows the smuggling, while jawans of another fire. At times, where bosses are not complicit, it is the fear of being caught. On 5 January, Rezaul Karim was fixing a hand pump on his fields. A BSF line was in quiet progress nearby. The sudden approaching headlights of the Company Commander, E 37 Battalion, compelled the jawans to put up a show. The bullet that hit Karim pierced through his back. TEHELKA has a copy of his post-mortem report. It describes his injury as "a round wound, half-inch in diameter, on the back of the chest, two inches from the midline." It lists the cause of death as "hemorrhage, shock and bullet entry wounds." His wife Sabina Bibi survives by rolling bidis. Every 500 bidis she rolls earns her Rs 25.

The greater risk brings greater profit. It can save smugglers the BSF 'commission' of up to Rs 5,000 per pair of cows

At times, it is the audacity of desperate men trying to pass through the fog unseen. Milton Sheikh was killed in July 2010. "While a BSF line was on, other cattle traders tried to sneak in without paying the cut," says eyewitness Maphikool. "It angered the jawans. They caught hold of Milton and shot him."

In the following pages, read six such stories. Pictures of dead bodies have been sourced from a photographer in Murshidabad who does not want to be named. The photos of Peeparul Sheikh and Noor Hussain were taken while their bodies were in police custody at Jalangi and Lalgola Police Station. In the last picture, Yadul Sheikh is being carted to Raninagar Police Station. His body is in the trunk of a BSF van.

"Yes, there are some incidents of smugglers being killed," Murshidabad SP BL Meena told TEHELKA. "Several cases are being investigated. If it is proved that firing by BSFwas done in private self-defence, then there is no question of arrest."

ON THE night of 7 July 2010, nine men from Khampara village began a forbidden journey towards Bangladesh with four buffaloes. Their plan was to deliver the cattle at a designated hut across the border, which would make each man richer by about Rs 2,100.

After a successful drop, they started the trek back. At around 1 am, they had passed the border post when they saw the scoping beams of a flashlight. "We heard firing. We knew the BSF had detected us. We ran back towards Bangladesh," says Riazul Sheikh, 25, one of the smugglers.

The men scurried, the BSF chased. Someone fell down, the rest moved on. About 500 m from the border, they stopped for a breather behind a tree. Riazul could see three jawans approaching, shining their torches, talking among themselves about a body. Some shots had already been fired. It appeared one of them was already dead.

After a few minutes of silence, Riazul heard another voice. "Please don't kill me," his friend Nentu Sheikh was pleading. In the distance, Riazul could see the BSF men standing next to a fallen man. "Don't kill me, please arrest me," Nentu said. "I have a child at home." There was some shuffling of feet. "If you have a kid at home, why are you here?" a jawan said before firing.

The men moved on. They stopped when they discovered another fallen man. "Entajul (Sheikh) was lying on the ground holding his breath. He had a bullet in his leg, so he couldn't run," recalls Riazul.

"Please don't kill me," Entajul pleaded with the jawans. "It is because of you that we lose our jobs," a jawan replied. From behind a tree, Riazul watched as Entajul was dragged towards the border. About 30 minutes later, he heard another shot.

"The BSF lets the terrorists go and catches us. They are like lions on the border," says Riazul. "They allow smuggling, then kill us for doing it. What else should we do? Run away to Dilli?"

The next morning, Entajul's corpse was taken to the Godhanpara primary health centre. The village pradhan was called to identify the body. "It seems he was tortured before being killed," says Entajul's father Mujahar Sheikh.

A case of unnatural death was registered at the Raninagar Police Station and the body sent for postmortem. Meanwhile, a criminal case was filed against Entajul on the basis of a complaint by Rakesh Rana, assistant commander of the BSF's 52nd Battalion.

The FIR reads: "On the intervening night of 6-7 July, constable Rajesh Kumar was on duty at Naka No. 7. At 1 am, he saw 12- 15 cattle smugglers on the home side. Kumar tried to stop them and called constable Tudu to assist him. One of the smugglers assaulted Kumar and 12-15 smugglers from the Bangladeshi side came over to overpower the sentry. On seeing imminent danger to his life and government property, he fired in self-defence and hit two smugglers. A search party recovered the following items from the scene: 1 cell phone, 1 sickle, 1 knife, Rs 25.50 and six cows."

When the family tried to lodge an FIR against the BSF, the police refused to do so. The family then approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which issued a notice to the BSF director-general and West Bengal DGP in October 2010.

"The complainant has intimated about the extra-judicial killing of Entajul Sheikh by a person attached with the BSF Battalion No. 52 of the Kaharpara headquarters. He has alleged that no FIR has been registered in this matter. Calling for a report in the matter within four weeks," the notice said.

The BSF replied with the same defence: self-defence.

ON THE morning of 26 June 2009, Swapan Mondal, a resident of Char Rajanagar village, awoke to strange sounds and a stranger sight. Barely a few metres from his hut, he saw his neighbour Mritunjoy Mondal's injured body being dragged by BSF men to the nearest outpost.

"I woke up around dawn," recalls Mritunjoy. "I stepped out of the house, picked up a mug, and went to the fields to defecate. As I was returning, I saw some men running towards the field. As I was about to enter my hut, I saw two soldiers peeping from behind a jackfruit tree. Our eyes met. Suddenly, I heard a gunshot. A few seconds later, I saw my arm oozing blood. I realised I had been hit by a bullet."

By the time the jawans took him to the Rajanagar camp, he was barely conscious, but could still hear snatches of conversation. "Don't kill him," he recalls a third soldier saying to the two men clutching his body.

Mritunjoy was then taken from the BSF camp to the Raninagar Police Station and a complaint was lodged against him for illegally crossing the border. Another case was filed at the Customs office with the following seizure list: 15 pieces of Keya Soap valued at Rs 150.

Soon, Mritunjoy was whisked away to the Berhampore district hospital for treatment. Six days later, he was shifted to the Nilratan Sircar Medical College Hospital in Kolkata. The labourer ended up paying the bills — Rs 80,000, equal to 10 months' salary — from his own pocket.

To add insult to his injury, he was arrested after discharge. After a hearing at Lalbagh court, he was sent to one-month judicial custody. He is now out on bail, and must appear at the court every three months.

In his counter complaint, Mritunjoy's father Shyam Charan Mondal wrote: "The BSF fired at him despite knowing that he was not involved in any illegal act. It was done to create terror in the locality. The place of occurrence as stated by the BSF is false and fabricated. I have photographs of the place, which is 13 km away from the border."

Despite all that, no FIR was lodged against the BSF personnel and no probe was conducted. Six months later, Mritunjoy received a showcause notice about the seized soap bars.

Poorer by Rs 80,000, accused of stealing soap, blind in one eye and with an arm hanging useless, he still is one of the lucky few who lived to tell the tale.

ON HIS last evening in the village, Noor Hussain had talked about Kolkata. A contract labourer in the city, Hussain had just returned home to Brahmottar village in Murshidabad for the Puja season. With no immediate family, he lived about 5 km from the Indo-Bangladesh border with a frail grandmother and uncle, Mustafa Sheikh.

As they listened, Hussain had bragged about working on a 35-storey building: the swanky South City apartments. "It must be the tallest in Kolkata," he had beamed. In his last project, he had helped build the South City Mall for Rs 120 a day.

Sheikh last saw his nephew at 7 pm on 1 September 2009. At 10.30 pm, Sheikh's wife Aisha Bibi recalls that Hussain asked for a mug and walked towards the fields. At 10.45 pm, Sheikh heard gunfire. "I thought someone had been shot for smuggling, and went back to sleep." It wasn't a surprise; the same month, three villagers had been killed by BSF personnel, says Sheikh. At 12.15 am, he woke up to a second round of firing.

Elsewhere in the village, CPM panchayat member Sadiq-ul-Islam was sleeping when he received a call from the then BSF'S 105 Battalion commander Amrit Lal Jadav. "Someone has been shot. Come and identify the body," said Jadhav. Islam refused. "What if your men mistake me for a smuggler and shoot me?" he said. Then Jadhav agreed to send some BSF men to accompany him to the spot.

"When I reached, I saw a body lying face down in a pool of blood," says Islam. At the site were Jadav and border outpost No. 5 commander P Vodra. "He was smuggling cows," the BSF commander told Islam. "There were three people. They tried to attack us with sickles, so we fired in self-defence. Two others escaped."

"He was just a kid, he was lying barely 200 m from his house," Islam told TEHELKA. "That night, smuggling had taken place, there were cow footprints on the mud all over. It's possible they let the original smugglers go and killed someone to show that they were being honest. It's possible that they killed him to safeguard their jobs."

Later that night, at around 1 am, Sheikh heard knocks at his door. It was Islam. "Here, take this," he said, handing Sheikh a torch. "Your Noor has been killed." A distraught Sheikh informed other family members. They peered out of their huts. "But we did not dare to step out," says Sheikh.

The next morning, when Sheikh arrived at the spot, Hussain's body was still lying face down. They were rifle-butt marks on the neck and a large hole in the back. Some cows had been tied to a tree beside his body. Sheikh was ordered to take Hussain's body to the police station. He spent Rs 2,000 to rent a car. The body was carried to the Lalgola Police Station and then 20 km to Lalbagh for post-mortem. At the police station, the BSF registered a complaint alleging that Hussain was a cow smuggler and handed over farm implements, sticks and two cows as seized goods.

At the hospital, a series of bribes followed. Rs 400 to the doctor for the autopsy; Rs 200 to the hospital staff for plastic containers; Rs 1,000 to the man to stitch back Hussain's body. He had demanded Rs 1,500, but they settled for Rs 900 and Rs 100 for alcohol — "he couldn't do it unless intoxicated" — and Rs 200 to the police constable. After the autopsy, two police officers arrived, clicked pictures of the body, asked Sheikh to sign some papers, and left.

According to the post-mortem report, Hussain was killed "probably by a bullet". It defines the cause as "the effect of injuries that are ante-mortem in nature". The injuries are a "¼ diameter round hole on the right side of the back," and another "¼ diameter round hole on the left side". After the autopsy, Hussain's body was handed over to the family. Last rites were performed and the body buried in a graveyard 500 m from the BSF camp.

Hussain's family is yet to see justice or compensation. "He was the only person in my life," says his grandmother Safanur Bewa, 70. "He said he would marry, have a house and be responsible for me." Two years on, Hussain's room is as it was. Through the cobwebs, light filters in. There is an empty cola bottle and bundles of jute he planned to sell. On the wall are posters brought back from Kolkata. One shows Tollywood actors. The other a fluorescent Taj Mahal, blue birds and a slogan: "Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into a friend."

ON OFFICIAL maps, plot No. 2529 is part of Chakmathura village in Murshidabad. But in the strange cartography of the borderline, it falls beyond the 'BSF road', beyond the de facto Line of Control, and in a space where India ceases, but where Bangladesh has not yet begun.

On 19 February 2009, Peeparul Sheikh and his cousin Aminul Islam were working at their farm here, located 5 km from the border near Outpost No. 4 manned by BSF constables from the Singhpara camp.

"We were tilling our land when we saw 30-40 cattle smugglers coming our way," says Islam. "The BSF allowed them to pass. As the cows trampled on our land, we tried to chase them away. Peeparul confronted three BSF jawans from the 90 Battalion, saying, 'Why are you allowing them through my fields?' After the smugglers passed, the jawans began to chase us. I ran, but they caught Peeparul and tied him with a rope. Then they beat him till he fainted and stamped on him."

By then, Islam was hiding, watching from behind a tree. Soon, he heard a gunshot. Realising that Peeparul could not be saved, he fled. Returning home, he alerted the family. However, no one dared to step out in the dark.

The next morning, they reached the plot. A posse of BSF jawans stood around Peeparul's body; the family wasn't allowed near it. Soon the body was placed in a jeep and whisked away to Jalangi Police Station for paperwork and then sent for an autopsy.

When Peeparul's father Najim complained to the police, they first refused to lodge a complaint. "They lodged a written complaint and gave me a copy, but refused to register it as an FIR, or give me a case number," he says. Najim then bribed a policeman to get the body disposal certificate, a copy of which is with TEHELKA. Armed with this evidence, he returned to the Jalangi Police Station. "Whose death certificate is this?" he asked the officer in charge. "This is your seal isn't it? Where is the case? How much money have you taken to remain silent?"

Four months later, the police registered a criminal case (No. 245/09) in which BSF head constable Prathap Kumar Chowdhury and 90 Battalion Company Commander Raj Singh were accused of murder. Yet, no one from Peeparul's family was questioned.

In a month, the police filed a closure report stating that no evidence was found to substantiate Najim's allegations. An enraged Najim challenged it in the Berhampore district court, which directed the police to reopen the case for further investigation. Again, the police filed a similar report. In August, Peeparul's father received a court notice asking if he had any objections.

"After investigation, the police has submitted a report saying that no offence has been made out against the accused," said the notice signed by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Berhampore.

Meanwhile, a criminal case has been filed at Jalangi Police Station against Peeparul. It was registered after the BSF filed a complaint saying that Peeparul was a cattle smuggler trying to cross the border illegally. In case No. 46/2009 dated 20 February 2009, Peeparul has been booked under Sections 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 186 (obstructing a public servant in discharging his function), 353 (assault or use of criminal force to deter a public servant from discharging his duty) and 307 (attempt to murder). The BSF also listed what they recovered from the crime scene: one cow.

The death certificate shows Peeparul's age as 24. But his family claims that he was a minor. TEHELKA has a copy of his school certificate that shows his date of birth as 1992.

"The BSF says they shot him while he was crossing zero point, but it's a lie. My fields are part of India," says an angry Najim. "Don't Indian laws apply here?"

EVER SINCE she saw her son Silajit Mondal succumb to bullet injuries two years ago, Karma Dasi hasn't oiled her hair. "I'm going mad," she says, pulling at the taut grey strands, baring a dry scalp as proof.

23 July 2008 began just like another day in Char Rajanagar, located on the edge of what locals call the 'BSF road'. In the early morning smog, some villagers walked past an observation point. They were ferrying fertiliser to be sold in Bangladesh.

For almost four months during the monsoon season, several stretches between the BSF road and the border are filled with water. In those parts, the road itself becomes the entry-exit point into Bangladesh, and the mandatory BSF outpost amounts to two jawans patrolling the waters on a speedboat.

That fateful morning, the smugglers crossed the BSF road, loaded their goods on a tin boat and rowed towards Bangladesh. At around 9 am, two jawans were heard screaming from a boat, speeding back to chase a man who was running towards the village. He soon ran past Silajit's house. The jawans appeared at Silajit's door, accusing him of crossing the border illegally — without having paid the BSF their cut. Silajit denied he was the man. "The jawans demanded to search the house, but Silajit wouldn't let them in," says his father Golak Mondal. "They had a brief altercation. Suddenly, one of them fired at Silajit from point-blank range."

According to the complaint filed by BSF Company Commander JR Choudhary at the Raninagar Police Station, "On 23 July, constables MM Islam and Ajay Kumar were at Observation Point No. 5 located 2 km from the border. At 12.30 hours, they observed some smugglers loading bags on a boat. On seeing them, the smugglers escaped to Char Rajanagar village. Within a few minutes, 20-25 smugglers along with miscreants came from the nearby village and attacked the OP party with sharpedged weapons. Constable Ashok Singh, who was posted nearby, rushed towards the OP. The smugglers attacked Ashok, who sustained severe injuries. The smugglers tried to snatch Islam's weapon. They attacked him with a lathi and dah.On sensing imminent danger, he fired in self-defence. One smuggler,Silajeet Mondal, sustained injuries.

On the basis of this complaint, an FIR was lodged at the Raninagar Police Station, booking Silajit "and others". The 'others' include Kanhai Mondal, a human rights worker, who has helped villagers file cases against the BSF. Kanhai continues to live here despite threats.

Silajit's family also lodged a police complaint. In a rare exception, the police conducted an investigation, but declared that the constable who shot Silajit was untraceable.

Yet, a few weeks after the murder, the "absconding" Islam appeared in civil dress outside Silajit's door, cash in hand. "I let him in," says Golak. "I gave him respect. But I did not take the money. How can I sell my son?"

AT THE time of his death, Yadul Sheikh was a Class IX student in Murshidabad's Mohanganj High School. His family says Yadul was 16. On paper though, he was three years older. "The CPM helped him a get a voter ID card that said he was 19," says his father Yunus Sheikh. "He used it to vote at the recent Assembly election."

But neither the card nor the vote was of any help for the lifestyle the youth dreamt of. "We needed pocket money," says Yadul's classmate Rashid Sheikh, now 20, "for school tiffin, pens and books, to eat out. Our parents were too poor to afford everything we wanted."

One night in 2007, the two boys were lazing around in their village, located 5 km from the border, when some strangers approached them. "They offered us Rs 400 to take two cows across the border," recalls Rashid.

On the night of 21 July 2007, 20 people met at a designated point in the shadow of the BSF border outpost No. 3 near the Mohanganj camp. Some wore jeans, some lungis. Each held a cow. The fog was dense, and it was hard to see beyond the outlines of man and animal. Yadul and Rashid stood patiently, clutching a piece of string, waiting for the signal to cross, the journey that would make them richer by Rs 200 each.

The "line was open" from 10 pm, which meant smuggling would take place with the BSF's connivance. Rashid does not recall how long they stood still before, suddenly, everyone else began to turn away. But the duo could not be certain. So they began to walk towards Bangladesh. Just as they had taken the first few steps, they heard the sound of racing boots; the BSF men were hunting for them. They abandoned the cows and fled in different directions. As he ran, Rashid heard three rounds of fire.

The next morning when Yadul's desperate family reached the spot, they found his limp body. A bullet had pierced right through his neck and exited from the back.

An elder relative, who is an active member of the cattle trade, says on the condition of anonymity that BSF constables at outpost No. 3 had indeed "opened the line" that night. The firing seems to have been done by constables of outpost No. 4. TEHELKA cannot verify this independently. The BSF'S 90 Battalion that was manning outpost No. 4 has since been transferred.

Yadul's family has made no attempts to lodge an FIR. "We did not complain because we are afraid. He was already doing doh numbari (illegal act). What rights do we have?" asks his father Yunus.

Since Yadul's death, Rashid has stopped participating in the illegal cattle trade. He also dropped out of school and now earns his living by farming. "I try to stop my friends from crossing the border, but they don't listen to me," he says.
________________________________

Tusha Mittal is a Principal Correspondent with Tehelka.
tusha@tehelka.com


http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ne151011BLOOD.asp#



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