Retrial in BSF shooting of Bangladeshi girl early next year

The Border Security Force (BSF) which ordered a revision trial in the fatal shooting of Felani Khatun, a Bangladeshi girl, Monday said proceedings will start early next year.

In Sepptember, the BSF rejected its special court's acquittal of constable Amiya Ghosh, charged with killing the girl, and decided to hold a fresh trial.

"We are working on the modalities and the revision trial is expected to begin early next year," BSF Additional Director General B.D. Sharma said here.

The girl's family members, including her father, would be invited to testify in the case.

Khatun (15) was shot Jan 7, 2011, while crossing over to Bangladesh at the international border checkpoint at Chaudharihat in Cooch Behar district.

Gory pictures of her body, hanging upside down on the barbed wire fence, were splashed across internet.

The body allegedly hung for hours before the border troopers of both countries brought it down.

Ghosh was charged with culpable homicide and the BSF started a General Security Force Court (GSFC) trial against him which Sep 6 found him "not guilty" following "inconclusive and insufficient" evidence against him.

A five-man BSF GSFC, headed by its Assam-Meghalaya frontier DIG (Communication) S.P. Trivedi, conducted the hearings at the Sonari BSF camp near Cooch Behar from Aug 13 under Sections 64 and 65 of the Border Security Force Act, 1968, and its Rules, 1969.

But the higher authorities of the force did not agree with the court's findings and ordered a revision trial, which will now start early 2014.