BSF hands protest note to BGB after jawan attacked by cattle smugglers on international border

The Border Security Force has handed over a "protest note" to their Bangladeshi counterparts BGB after its jawan was attacked by cattle smugglers along the India-Bangladesh international border in West Bengal, the force said on Thursday.

It said constable Bubai Nurki suffered a fracture on his finger when he was trying to thwart cattle smuggling and had nabbed a Bangaldeshi smuggler near the Jalangi border post in Murshidabad district at about 4 pm on Wednesday.

As soon as the BSF jawan nabbed one of the cattle smugglers, his accomplice "suddenly attacked" him with a stick, it said.

"Taking advantage of the muddy field and jute crop, both the smugglers fled towards Bangladesh leaving behind the cattle," the BSF's south Bengal frontier said in a statement issued in Kolkata.

"After this incident of injury to the jawan, the BSF company commander held a flag meeting with his counterpart from the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) and handed over a protest note to them with the request to ensure that no criminal from Bangladesh enters into India by violating the sanctity of the international boundary," the BSF said.

It said cattle smuggling incidents along this front are occurring frequently in view of the 'qurbani Eid' festival that falls this month-end.

"The frustration and desperation level of smugglers is so high that they are attacking BSF troops on duty after organising themselves into large groups and they use bricks, sticks, daggers, sickles and a cleaver-shaped knife called 'dah' to attack BSF troops," the border guarding force said.

"In few incidents, the smugglers have used country-made pistols and bombs also (to attack BSF personnel)," it said.

It further said the BSF authorities of south Bengal frontier Kolkata are determined to ensure that no loss to the life and property of BSF troops would be accepted at any cost.

The south Bengal frontier of the border force mans over 940 km out of the total 4,096 km India-Bangladesh front that runs along the eastern flank of the country.