Bhandorchar is a village at Roumari in the Kurigram district along the Bangladeshi border, opposite the Indian State of Assam. The residents of the village are mostly poor farmers or agricultural workers. Communication between this village and other areas such as Roumari upazila headquarters and other villages is tough because it is separated from them by the Jinjiram river. There is no connecting bridge and boats offering a crossover are also not readily available. The children of this village do not go to school mainly because of economic hardship and a poor communication system. To add to all this, residents of this village live in constant alarm because of the killings of Bangladeshi citizens along the border by the BSF. At around 6.00 pm on November 6, 2009, a 12-year-old girl named Monjuara Khatun, a resident of the village of Bhandorchar, was killed by bullets fired by the BSF. It was learned from eye-witnesses that when Monjuara had gone to the area adjacent to Main Pillar No. 1066 of the border to bring her goats home with her neighbours Lucky (12) and Arifa (13), the BSF of the Sahapara Camp of India shot two rounds at them, though Monjuara and her friends had been inside Bangladeshi territory the whole time. Lucky and Arifa managed to flee unscathed. After the incident, the family of Monjuara brought back her body with the help of the BDR. On that very night, the BSF launched a parachute bomb into Bangladeshi territory, the flare of which caused the whole area to light up. Panic spread and the residents of the villages of Bhandorchar and adjacent localities left their homes for a safe shelter. In the light of the parachute bomb, the BSF opened fire. The BDR responded accordingly. The residents of the village of Bhandorchar and neighbouring villages are passing their days in constant fear especially after the death of Monjuara at the hands of the BSF.
Kurigram-Monjuara Killed Roumari-Border Eng-2008 (full text in English, PDF)
Kurigram-Monjuara Killed Roumari-Border Bang-2008 (full text in Bangla, PDF)
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