Malda, 20 June: TWO suspected Bangladeshi cattle smugglers were shot dead by Border Security Force (BSF) personnel when they were trying to smuggle cows through the Indo-Bangladesh border in Malda district late last night. Their bodies were handed over to Habibpur police station today.
While on a routine patrol on the border, the BSF personnel of 82 Battalion noticed some movements along the border near Anuradhapur are under Habibpur police station.
Every year during monsoon, smugglers in the bordering districts become active and they try to traffic a large number of cattle, mostly cows.
Sources in BSF said that as many as 450 cows were recovered from bordering areas in Malda and Murshidabad districts in the past 15 days.
After the smugglers were spotted by the BSF personnel yesterday night, they were asked to surrender. But instead, the gang of smugglers attacked the BSF personnel with sharp weapons. In retaliation, BSF personnel opened fire.
Two of the smugglers, who are yet to be identified, were killed in the firing. Others in the gang managed to flee into Bangladesh. Seventeen cows were recovered from the spot.
According to police sources, both the bodies were sent for post-mortem and efforts were on to identify them. Police have launched a manhunt in the bordering areas to nab the Indian smugglers, who helped their Bangladeshi counterparts.
Source: NEWSMEN