That people travelling on road between Benapole border and Jessore should be subjected to checks not once or twice but as many as seven times, thrice by the BGB and four times by the police, defies logic. And what is more galling is that even those that have come across the border and have gone through customs checks should have to suffer the same torture. This in spite of the fact that there are no rules that permit law enforcing agencies to subject passport holders to random checks after they have gone through the relevant procedures at the customs and immigration, except on specific information. 

The matter has come to our attention following the recent report of the travails of an expatriate Bangladeshi couple at the hands of the police on that road. Presumably, it is not a one-off case but an everyday occurrence. And reportedly, the check post was illegal, something that the higher authorities were, surprisingly, oblivious about! 

Yes it is the duty of the BGB and police to check and discourage smuggling and ensure our safety, but BGB's writ runs inside the 5 kilometres limit from the border. However, we fail to understand why the same person should be subjected to search thrice by the same agency.

The stories that come out from the suffering passengers suggest that the motive behind the search is not quite the concern for security or to stop smuggling. Had that been so, then some human-friendly ways could have been devised by the agencies concerned to ensure that the concerns for security and smuggling were addressed along with ensuring the comfort of the travelers.