The five-day director general level conference between Bangladesh Rifles and BSF will discuss a series of issues, with particular focus on preventing trans-border smuggling and improving law and order in the frontier areas.
India and Bangladesh today began a key conference of top officials of the border guards in the capital that is expected to focus on combating human trafficking, arms and drug smuggling and improving law and order in the frontier areas.
The five-day director general level conference between Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and Border Security Force (BSF) will discuss a series of issues, with particular focus on preventing trans-border smuggling and improving law and order in the frontier areas.
The two border guards are expected to exchange a list of wanted criminals allegedly hiding in India and Bangladesh during the conference, sources said.
BSF director general Raman Srivastava, who arrived in Dhaka yesterday, is leading a 20-member delegation while BDR chief Mohammad Rafiqul Islam is heading the team of Bangladesh.
Dhaka is expected to raise the issue of alleged killing, wounding and torture of "unarmed Bangladeshi nationals" by BSF and Indian civilians at the border, BDR sources said.
"We have prepared a list of wanted criminals who are suspected to have been hiding in neighbouring countries. The list has been prepared in cooperation with different law-enforcing and intelligence agencies," Islam said yesterday.
"The conference will mainly focus on two issues --preventing drug smuggling and human trafficking and improving law and order in the border areas," the BDR chief told journalists.
Other issues expected to come up for discussion today at the BDR headquarters include claims of adversely possessed land, construction of illegal structures, "abduction of Bangladeshi people" by the Indian border guards.
Senior officials of BDR, ministries of home, foreign and land and joint river commission have been included in the Bangladeshi delegation.
The Indian delegation includes officials of the BSF headquarters, frontier IG and officials of the home and external affairs ministries.
The conference will conclude on September 27 with the inking of a Joint Record of Discussions (JRD), the sources said.
Both India and Bangladesh have frequently accused each other of firing on civilians from across the border.
BSF has said it has often been forced to resort to firing along the porous border to ward off criminals and infiltrators including terrorists, especially during the night time who seek to cross into India.
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