BSF foils cattle smuggling bid by Bangladeshi miscreants in West Bengal's Malda

Kolkata, Jun 22 (PTI) Border Security Force jawans on Saturday foiled a cattle smuggling bid by Bangladeshi miscreants in West Bengal's Malda district, a BSF statement said.

The jawans of the 70 BSF battalion posted at the Lodhia border outpost spotted movement of 14-15 Bangladeshi miscreants carrying spears and swords near the fence on June 22 early morning.

As the smugglers crossed the fencing and entered the Indian side, the jawans threw a stun grenade to disperse them.

However, as the intruders became more aggressive and attacked the jawans with sharp spears and iron rods, the jawans fired two rounds in self-defence, the statement said.

The smugglers then retreated to the Bangladesh side under cover of darkness, the statement said, adding, that no casualty was reported on the side of BSF or the smugglers.

After searching the spot, iron rods and a spear were recovered.

After this incident, a meeting was held with Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), where a protest was lodged against the unprovoked attack by Bangladeshi smugglers.

A primary report has also been registered in the concerned police station regarding the attack and the firing done in self-defence by BSF.

The incident was preceded by similar recent attacks in the border outpost Madhubana and border outpost Ranaghat in recent times.

"Every day, three-four such attacks take place in the area, which is under the responsibility of the South Bengal frontier sometimes leading to the serious injury of jawans. We have flagged the issue with BGB," a BSF spokesperson said. PTI SUS RG