Source : WION
Bangladeshi sepoy ‘disguised as cattle smuggler’ shot dead by BSF in West Bengal
A Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) sepoy was killed by a Border Security Force (BSF) jawan (soldier) along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district on Monday (Jan 22) during an attempt to foil a cattle smuggling bid.
The BGB sepoy was not in uniform and allegedly ‘disguised as a cattle smuggler’, according to a PTI report. The incident transpired when a group of Bangladeshi cattle smugglers attempted to cross over to India by breaching the newly installed barbed wire fence.
The Indian soldier noticed the group of unidentified individuals, engaging in suspicious activities and approached them.
“When the jawan confronted the smugglers, they, realising that he was alone, surrounded him and attacked him using sharp-edged sickles,” a BSF official stated.
Upon being attacked, the soldier engaged in self-defence and retaliated by opening fire. Consequently, one of the attackers, who turned out to be a BGB sepoy, suffered injuries.
The rest of the attackers utilised the heavy fog in the area to evade the Indian soldier and managed to hop over to the other side of the fence with the cattle.
After the incident, during a flag meeting, BGB informed BSF that one of its personnel was missing and suspected he had crossed into the Indian side.
“Hearing the sound of fire, other jawans reached the spot and immediately removed the injured man and got him admitted to a government hospital in Bongaon, where he died during treatment. During a thorough search, one animal and some sharp weapons were found at the site,” BSF said.
“Upon identification from a photograph, it was known that the deceased man was Mohammad Riyasudin, serving as a sepoy in BGB, and was moving with cattle smugglers,” it added.
Additionally, BSF apprised the Ministry of External Affairs and Bangladesh High Commission in Kolkata of the incident.
Cattle smuggling
Cattle smuggling is a big problem in the border areas, especially the 4,096-km-long India-Bangladesh border. According to various estimates, more than two million Indian cattle are smuggled to Bangladesh every year.
The demand for cattle in Bangladesh is high throughout the year but it usually peaks before Eid and other Islamic festivals.
There have been reports that the Bangladeshi border security is often hand in glove with the smugglers and help them in ferrying the contraband cattle.
(With inputs from agencies)
