Clash after BSF seizes cattle

Statesman News Service

MALDA, June 13: There was a clash between locals and BSF jawans today after they seized cattle at Kaliachak town in Malda. Five people, including two BSF jawans, were injured and some cattle killed. A mob allegedly challenged the jawans while they were trying to seize the cattle. A clash ensued and the BSF jawans had to fire in the air to disperse the mob. The BSF conducted a raid this morning at Kaliachak after getting information that cattle by the dozens had reached the town from different places by truck to be smuggled to Bangladesh. Seven calves were killed inside the vehicles during the clash, police said. Locals later staged a roadblock on the national highway, demanding punishment for the jawans for their alleged highhandedness. The Malda SDO, Mr Prassana Kumar Mandal, rushed to the spot with additional police force, to lift the roadblock. The SDO later held a tripartite meeting at the Kaliachak police station with BSF officials, senior political leaders and locals to bring the situation under control. The Malda SP, Mr DK Mondal, expressed his concern over the incident and lambasted the BSF jawans for seizing cattle from the national highway illegally. “The BSF should not seize domestic cattle from national highways. They can seize cattle only when they cross the border,” the SP said. BSF officers, however, said they seized the cattle because they were being smuggled. “We can raid any area within 15 km from the border line,” he said. When the Malda district administration requested the BSF to check border smuggling at a coordination meeting here recently, the BSF had proposed that the civil administration ask the police to seize the cattle en route to the Bangladesh border. A senior BSF officer alleged that since police were reluctant to seize cattle, they had to act today to stop the illegal trade. There is a misunderstanding between the BSF and the district administration over cattle smuggling. As a result, the menace persists in the region. Members of the district monitoring committee will hold a meeting with BSF officials tomorrow to chalk out a strategy on how to deal with cattle smuggling, officials said here today.