Police stop NCP's march to the Indian High Commission
Police have stopped the National Citizens Party’s (NCP) “Anti-Hegemony March” toward the Indian High Commission, demanding justice for the killing of Felani Khatun at the border.
The NCP’s Dhaka Metropolitan North branch had called for the programme today, Wednesday, on the 15th anniversary of the Bangladeshi teenager Felani’s killing by gunfire from the Indian Border Security Force (BSF).
This afternoon, NCP leaders and activists gathered in Shahjadpur, Badda, and began marching toward the Indian High Commission in Baridhara, Dhaka. Before reaching the High Commission, police stopped the march with barricades.
NCP leaders and activists then stood on Kurilmukhi Road, chanting slogans and giving speeches. Among their slogans were: “Delhi or Dhaka—Dhaka, Dhaka,” “Felani on the barbed wire—we have not forgotten you,” and “Stop Indian aggression—people power.”
Unable to move forward due to the police blockade, NCP leaders delivered their speeches while standing on rickshaws on the road. The programme concluded there afterward.
Ariful Islam Adib, Senior Joint Convener of NCP, said that at the border, it was not only Felani who was left hanging—Bangladesh’s sovereignty and independence were also at stake. He alleged that, with India’s support, the Awami League carried out massacres at Pilkhana and Shahbagh.
Referring to the misrule of the previous Awami League government, he said justice must be ensured for their actions. He also urged the government to take steps to hold India accountable in international courts. He added that if any country tries to interfere in Bangladesh’s upcoming elections, the people will give them a strong response.
On 7 January 2011, Felani was killed by gunfire from the BSF while crossing the barbed-wire border fence in Anantapur, Phulbari Upazila, Kurigram, with her father. Her body remained hanging on the barbed wire for five hours after she was shot, a scene that drew widespread attention in both domestic and international media.
To restore financial stability to the family, Felani’s father had gone to India in search of work along with his family. Later, when his daughter’s marriage was arranged in Bangladesh, this killing occurred as he was returning to the country.
After international human rights organisations raised their voices, the trial for Felani’s killing began in 2013 at a special BSF court in Koch Bihar, India. However, the accused BSF member, Amiya Ghosh, was acquitted. Following objections from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), the case was retried in 2014, but he was acquitted again.
Subsequently, on 14 July 2015, Felani’s father, Nurul Islam, filed a writ petition in the High Court of India through the Indian human rights organisation “MASUM.” The case has still not been resolved.