BSF troops guarding the India-Bangladesh international border will get over 5,000 body-worn cameras, which will act as a measure to record visuals and evidence of deporting illegal Bangladeshis, and of instances of criminals attacking the on-duty personnel. Not only this, but as per the sources, a dedicated number of BSF's border outposts (BOPs) along the 4,096 km front are also being equipped with gadgets to capture biometrics like fingerprints and iris (eyes) scan of illegal Bangladeshis for sharing this data with the Foreigners Registration Office (FRO).
BSF will receive these body-worn cameras in two batches. The Union Home Ministry has given a green signal to both proposals, following a "comprehensive review" of the security situation along the Bangladesh border. These two crucial steps will no doubt bolster the capabilities of the force at this front, which have been taken in the wake of the stepped-up security arrangements along the border following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh.
Why is there a need for these body-cameras?
These cameras are night-vision enabled and can record about 12-14 hours of footage, the sources said. The cameras will help record the facts and evidence when BSF troops deport illegal Bangladeshis or engage with miscreants to stop cross-border crimes like drugs, cattle, and fake Indian currency notes (FICN) smuggling, apart from human trafficking and infiltration, they said.
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Bangladesh and its force, Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), has been claiming at bilateral forums that their nationals are being killed by the Indian side using extraordinary force and in an unjustified manner, while the BSF has always maintained it opens non-lethal or lethal fire as a last resort to save the life of the troopers, the sources said. The cameras will now assist the force to record evidence of these incidents, therefore, acting as proof when required for an investigation, they said.
The sources said some select and "vulnerable" BSF BOPs from the point of view of cross-border infiltration are also being installed with biometric data recording machines that will capture the fingerprints and eye scans of illegal Bangladeshis caught by the BSF on this front. This biometric data will be shared with the FRO to create an evidence-based database against infiltrators and illegal Bangladeshis trying to sneak into India, they said.
The Union home ministry, post the Pahalgam terror attack, has asked all states to check and deport illegal Bangladeshis living in their jurisdictions. As per official data, the BSF, till July 15 this year, has apprehended 1,372 Bangladeshis infiltrating into India from this front, while it caught or was handed over by various state police forces over 3,536 such men and women while crossing over from India to the other side. The recorded figures for last year were 2,425 (incoming) and 1,049 (outgoing).
According to the official data, there were up to 77 attacks on BSF personnel at the border last year by criminals from both Bangladesh and India, and there have been 35 such incidents reported as of June this year.
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