-The Telegraph
The Supreme Court today took cognisance of a public interest petition about alleged extra-judicial killings of unarmed nationals by the Border Security Force along the Bengal stretch of the border with Bangladesh.
A two-judge bench of Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Dipak Mishra issued notices to the Centre and the Bengal government after hearing short arguments from senior counsel Colin Gonsalves for the Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha, an NGO that filed the PIL.
Notices were also sent to the National Human Rights Commission, the Bengal rights panel and the BSF, which comes under the Union home ministry.
Solicitor-general R.F. Nariman represented the central government.
Gonsalves said extra-judicial killings, rape and torture involving BSF personnel were common along this border stretch. “The use of force against unarmed civilians cannot be justified as being in the normal course of their duty,” the lawyer said, adding that in every instance, the BSF had argued that it was a case of self-defence.