A group of Bangladeshi smugglers attacked one of the Border Security Forces(BSF) personnel while trying to pick some suspected bundle from near the International Border(IB) in the Indian side of West Bengal. After attacking the BSF personnel, the miscreants fled away.
As per reports, the incident took place on Sunday evening at around 9:30 pm near Border Outpost(BOP) Narayanganj in the Coochbehar sector while the BSF troops were engaged in performing their patrolling duty. The location was about 250 metres from the International Border and at a distance of 3.4 km from the BOP.
India’s BSF says one of its troop injured by Bangladesh based miscreants in Narayanganj sector Coochbehar, West Bengal. Release said, “group of smugglers charged aggressively towards BSF troops and assaulted one of the BSF personnel”
— Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) April 5, 2021
The BSF released a statement saying that the incident took place after the miscreants had disconnected the electricity supply to switch off the Border Fencing Lights(BFL) so they could hide their movements and reach up to the International Boundary Border Fence(IBBF) to smuggle a bundle of illegal objects.
“The BSF team simultaneously observed movements of five to six Bangladeshis in two groups ahead of IBBF and saw them approaching towards Indian side while remaining concealed in the paddy field to collect the bundle thrown by Indian miscreants. The BSF team lobbed one stun Grenade at one group and fired one Pump Action Gun (PAG) round on the other group,” the statement said.
In response to BSF troops’ action, the group of smugglers aggressively charged towards them and assaulted them. In the ensuing scuffle, one of the BSF troopers was injured with a torch that hit him on his left eyebrow. As other BSF personnel rushed closer, the smugglers escaped away.
The BSF personnel injured in the attack was subsequently evacuated and admitted to Dinhata government hospital for further treatment. Upon search, troops recovered one mobile, two sim cards of Bangladesh and a torch.
India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-kilometre-long(2,545 mi) international border, a major part of which is a riverine border or unfenced border, making it easy for smugglers to smuggle between India and Bangladesh. Smugglers based out of Bangladesh use the porous nature of the border to smuggle illegal items. Cattle smuggling has been a lucrative form of illegal trade along the India-Bangladesh border and becomes particularly prolific as the festival of Eid comes closer. However, in the last few years, the BSF has foiled many attempts by smugglers to transport contraband and cattle across the border into Bangladesh.
