West Bengal: BSF inspector dies while stopping cattle smuggling along Bangladesh border

Kolkata/New Delhi, Oct 6 (PTI) A 59-year-old Border Security Force inspector died while thwarting a cattle smuggling bid along the international border with Bangladesh in West Bengal.

A Court of Inquiry (CoI) has been ordered into the incident which occurred around midnight on October 4 near the Agra border outpost (BOP) of the BSF in Malda district of the state, officials told PTI on Monday.

BSF inspector Kapil Deo Singh was leading an ambush party when the troops saw cattle smugglers trying to push buffaloes from India to Bangladesh, they said.

The troops fired three non-lethal rounds from their pump action guns to stop the smugglers, who attacked the security personnel with sharp weapons like a 'dah' (large knife) and sticks, according to officials.

Inspector Singh, belonging to the 88th battalion of the force, was chasing the smugglers when he slipped in the marshy and water-logged terrain and fell unconscious. He was rushed to a hospital where he was declared dead, they said.

The inspector did not suffer any external injuries, and the exact cause of his death is being ascertained. His post-mortem report is awaited, the officials said.

Senior officials said the policy of first use of non-lethal weapons followed by lethal weapons against criminals on this border has emboldened such elements from both sides. Hence, such instances are taking place regularly.

The BSF has ordered a CoI into the incident, they said. PTI NES RT RT