Felani's father demands justice, compensation for daughter's death

Felani Khatun's father has demanded justice and compensation for his daughter's death while testifying in the retrial at a BSF court.

The General Security Force Court at BSF Sector headquarters in India's Cooch Behar recorded statement of the father of the teenage girl, who was shot dead in 2011.

A seven-member bench of judges heard the father Nurul Islam on Monday, said Kurigram Public Prosecutor Abraham Lincoln, who accompanied Islam in the court.

Islam along with Lincoln and 45th BGB Battalion acting commander Maj ATM Hemayetul Islam returned to Bangladesh Monday night.

"I have sought justice for my daughter at the court. I also demanded compensation," Islam told bdnews24.com.

Indian border guards shot dead 15-year-old Felani on Jan 7, 2011 while she was trying to cross barbed-wire fencing near Choudhury Haat with her father.

Images of her body hanging on the border fence triggered outrage in both Bangladesh and India.

The trial over her murder had started in August 2013.

A BSF court acquitted Constable Ghosh on Sept 6 last year due to 'inconclusive and insufficient' evidence.

45th BGB Battalion acting commander Maj ATM Hemayetul Islam

However, the Indian border guards admitted use of "excessive force" in the case and said it was difficult to justify the shooting.

Felani's father on Sept 12 appealed to the Indian government through its High Commission in Dhaka for a retrial.

The BSF later agreed for the retrial and it started on Sept 22.