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Need to know why he was shot dead: BSF jawan's son

Agra: In his 29 years in Border Security Force, slain head constable Vijay Bhan Singh of Firozabad district made more friends than enemies. Probably that was one of the reasons why he was part of a team of six men to hold flag meeting with Border Guard Bangladesh to extract an Indian fisherman, who was held in custody across the border for inadvertently intruding into foreign waters.

The 51-year-old border man, who hailed from Chamrauli village of Shikohabad block, was killed and a constable injured in an unprovoked firing by BGB troops during a flag meeting on Thursday along a riverine border stretch between Bangladesh and Behrampore in Bengal.

He is survived by 50-year-old wife Sunita and two sons, corporal Vivek Kumar (28) and Sumit Kumar (21). Singh, who had joined BSF in 1990, was supposed to be back home on leave next month.

Speaking with TOI, his elder son Vivek Kumar, currently serving in technical team of Yelahanka air force station, Bengaluru, said, “My father was a humble man who cared for everyone. He had sufficient experience in dealing with difficult situations which arose on the border. My family needs to know as why he was shot dead during a flag meeting which was supposed to be peaceful.”

Neeraj Kumar, the gram pradhan of Chamrauli village and a relative of the slain BSF jawan, said, “The family has a tradition of serving country by joining security forces. Vijay’s elder brother Satyendra Bhan Singh is a retired solider of Indian Army, while Vijay’s elder son is serving in IAF. There are over dozen men in the village who serve in defence forces.”

“We want a memorial for Vijay Bhan Singh in the village and a government job for Sumit Kumar, the younger son of the slain BSF jawan,” the gram Pradhan said.

“The firing incident appears to be unprovoked and is unprecedented. The BSF is in touch with BGB at multiple levels to find out what provoked the hostility and if it was a case of some personnel getting trigger-happy,” a BSF officer had told TOI.

Meanwhile, chief minister Yogi Adityanath paid homage to the slain BSF man and also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 25 lakh for Singh's family.

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