Indian Border Security Force (BSF) gunned down yet another Bangladeshi national on Thursday taking the total of such killings to 5 in last one week. According to UNB news agency, BSF gunned down a Bangladeshi national near Bhaigarh border in Birampur upazila in Dinajpur early Thursday.(The Bangladesh Today )

The deceased was identified as Azizar Rahman, 35, son of Nilbor Ali of Bhaigarh village.

BDR sources said BSF members of 57 Bhimpur camp fired on Bangladesh border, leaving Azizar dead on the spot. Aziz was working in his field at the time.

"The BSF members then intruded into Bangladesh territory and dragged the body into their camp," says a report from the area. In an immediate reaction, BDR sent a letter to BSF protesting the incident and also asked for return of the body of the deceased.

Earlier on Saturday, they shot dead Ashraful Islam and Aminul Islam on Sundara border in Dinajpur. Two days after the incident, on Monday, they killed another two Bangladeshis-Mohsin and Ruhul Amin-on Jalpaitoli frontier.

According to statistics projected by 'Odhikar', a non-government human rights watchdog, some 62 Bangladeshi civilians were killed by the Indian BSF from January 1 to July 11 this year. With the latest killing on September 17 the total number of Bangladeshis killed since 1 January 2009 stands at 77, and that from 1 January 2000 to September 17, 2009 stands at 804. Odhikar said, in more than nine years between 1 January 2000 and 10 July 2009 a total of 789 people were reported killed, 846 injured and 895 abducted by the BSF.

The killings of unarmed Bangladeshis by the BSF on the border are continuing in clear violation of the spirit of good neighborliness as well as international law and despite repeated pledges by the Indian authorities to stop it. In every meeting between BSF and BDR and also between the higher level officials of the two countries, the Indian side assures that killing of Bangladeshis by its forces on the border would come to an end immediately. But this pledge is seldom implemented.

Indian BSF had pledged very recently once again to stop killings of Bangladeshi citizens on the border. The assurance was given by BSF Chief Mahendra Lal Kumawat at a joint press briefing on conclusion of the three-day high level BDR-BSF conference in Dhaka on July 14. But it appears that BSF does not mean what it says and hence it continues killing Bangladeshis.