The Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were on Thursday attacked by Bangladeshi cattle smugglers on the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s North 24 Parganas district, a statement from the paramilitary force said.
The statement said that the jawans, in a retaliatory action in self-defence, foiled the smuggling attempt and recovered 10 bulls from the cattle smugglers.
The incident took place when the BSF personnel saw smugglers approaching the border fence at Khutadah border outpost (BOP) from the Indian side with cattle. Simultaneously, smugglers also crossed the international border into India from the Bangladesh side.
Despite the BSF jawans warning them to stop, the smugglers continued to advance aggressively, ignoring the warning. They were wielding sharp-edged spears while attempting to cut the border fence. Responding to the threat, a BSF jawan fired a blank round as a warning.
"Taking advantage of the darkness and uneven terrain, the smugglers fled back to Bangladesh. A subsequent search of the area led to the recovery of 8 bulls of Haryana origin and three sharp-edged spears left behind by the attackers," the statement by BSF South Bengal Frontier said.
The statement also mentioned previous incidents of similar smuggling attempts and assaults at BOPs HC Pur and Nawada (Malda sector) and Pipli BOP (Kolkata sector), where BSF jawans had to defend themselves using stun grenades and other weapons.
A BSF spokesperson stated that the Bangladeshi authorities gace not taken any concrete action despite frequent flag meetings with the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to raise concerns about such attacks.
"Despite these challenges, our jawans continue to perform their duties with unwavering courage and vigilance," the spokesperson said.
One Bangladeshi smuggler was neutralised in August 2024 along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal's Malda after an attack by a group of smugglers weilding sharp-edged weapons. He was killed in retaliatory action.
The incident took place when smugglers atatcked BSF troops at the Chandnichak Border Outpost of the 115th Battalion on the intervening night of August 11-12. The smugglers had crossed the security cordon and entered India illegally to take a consignment of bidi leaves, a BSF statement noted.