A fortnight ago, Deepak Sardar, a resident of Bayra village in North 24-Parganas’ Bagda Assembly constituency, was returning from his farmland on the other side of the fence across the Bangladesh border when he was stopped and questioned by BSF personnel.

On failing to provide information about a certain individual, Sardar was allegedly so hard slapped by an officer that it “ruptured his eardrum”.

Sardar is among over 65,000 families trapped inside the barbed wire fencing along the Bangladesh border spread across nine districts who are at the mercy of the BSF.

Kiriti Roy, who runs the NGO Masum, spoke at the Kolkata Press Club on Saturday about their plight. He said border fence gates are opened from 4am to 5am, noon to 1pm and 5pm to 6pm to let these Indians enter their country.

“The border line is open. Indian citizens living inside the fence have free access to Bangladesh but they cannot enter their own country. This is ridiculous,” Roy said.

Built by the Indian government to prevent smuggling and illegal immigration, the fence — which snakes its way through paddy fields for 140 metres inside India’s porous border with Bangladesh — cuts residents off from family, friends, jobs, and schools.

Bengal shares some 2,216km of borders with Bangladesh, 78 per cent of which is fenced, with 1,645km completed, 22km under construction, 437km unfenced. Some 112km is deemed unfeasible for fencing. The Centre has claimed fencing is hampered in Bengal because of the state’s land acquisition policy, something the Mamata Banerjee government has denied.

The Indian government says fencing is mandatory to stop infiltration. Human rights groups claim it denies residents many basic constitutional rights.

“Take Ajafar Sheikh from Kalmati in Cooch Behar. He requested the BSF to open the gates so he could buy medicine for his ill father. They refused. Desperate, he went to Muktijoddha Bazar in Bangladesh to buy the medicine, but was arrested by the BGB and is now in Bangladesh’s Kurigram Jail,” said Roy.

Villagers who accompanied Roy recounted their stories, too.

“My son’s body was found in the river. They claimed he was involved in smuggling and died of drowning but there is no proof,” said resident Rahela Mondal.

“There are no schools or colleges. We don't even have a proper sanitation facility. If anyone is ill at night, we have to wait till morning to take him or her to the hospital,” Harun Sheikh of Tharaikhana village in Dinhata, Cooch Behar, said.

“Let the BSF go back to the border so that these people can stay in their own country with dignity. I have tried to speak to BSF but they are not ready to speak,” Roy said.

Contacted, BSF authorities refused to comment.