Justice still elusive in 11 years in Felani murder

Eleven years have passed since Felani Khatun, a 14 years old girl, was reportedly murdered by the Indian Border Security Force. However, her family is still searching for justice almost a decade after the teenaged girl was reportedly shot to death by BSF on the Anantapur border in Kurigram in 2011.

Although it has been 11 long years since the brutal killing that triggered a global outcry, the judicial process to ensure justice for Felani is yet to be complete. Yet, Felani’s parents have not lost hope and now want the Supreme Court of India to ensure justice for their daughter.

“We expect that Indian Border Security Force (BSF) member Amiya Ghosh, who killed Felani, will be sentenced in the Supreme Court and we will get justice,” Felani’s father Nur Islam and mother Jahanara Begum said marking her 11th death anniversary on Friday.

Felani, a 14-year-old girl, was shot dead by the BSF in Anantapur border under Phulbari upazila in Kurigram on January 7, 2011, when she was returning home crossing barbed-wire fences erected by India. Her body was left hanging from the barbed-wire fence for five hours, and the news sparked protests at home and abroad.

The family of Felani will arrange a prayer session and distribute food among the poor people in her village home at Banarbhita of Ramkhana union at Nageswari in Kurigram with financial assistance from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), said Jahanara Begum, mother of the murdered teenage girl, adding that they are still waiting for justice.

Although the Indian government tried to avoid the killing of Felani, the Bangladesh government and international human rights organizations protested the killing and called for a speedy trial, said SM Abraham Lincoln, a public prosecutor of Kurigram.

Subsequently on August 13, 2013, court proceedings began at the General Security Force Court, situated at 181 BSF Battalion headquarters in India. However, the court acquitted the accused BSF member on September 6 of the same year, he said.

When Felani’s parents rejected the verdict, court proceedings began again on September 22, 2014, and the court acquitted the accused on July 2, 2015. After rejecting the second verdict, Felani’s father and the Kolkata-based human rights organization Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha’s General Secretary Kirity Roy joint filed a writ petition with the Indian Supreme Court. In 2015, a bench headed by the Chief Justice accepted the writ and served a notice to the defendants asking for a response.

The defendants followed suit but ever since their submission, the apex court is yet to hold another hearing after a repeated deferring of court dates.

Earlier on August 27, 2013, Felani’s father and Salma Ali, Executive Director of Bangladesh National Women Lawyers’ Association, had filed a writ petition with the Supreme Court of India but to no avail, since not a single hearing was held for the writ.

Felani’s father, Nur Islam said that he had high hopes this time and was sure he would get justice for his daughter. However, due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, legal services in India have been suspended, and they are waiting for the resumption of their case still.