Statesman News Service
MALDA, July 17: The BSF and Bangladesh Rifle jawans exchanged fire along the Indo-Bangla border at Lakshmina-rayanpur village today after the death of a Bangladeshi cattle smuggler, Tejamul Hoque, in BSF firing, deputy inspector general of Malda BSF sector Mr Dharamveer Saraswat said. Officials of 172 Battalion of BSF said that last night the BSF personnel shot dead a cattle smuggler, who was later identified as Tejamul Hoque, a resident of Bangladesh’s Naogaon district. The BSF men opened fire to stop a group of smugglers who were trying to cross the border with a herd of cattle and Tejamul was killed in the encounter, Mr Saraswat said. Tejamul, according to the BSF officials, was the kingpin of the cattle smuggling racket here. Trouble broke out around 1.35 pm today when Indian border guards accused the BDR of supporting cattle smugglers. Although the BSF officials had proper evidence to substantiate their allegation, it irked the BDR personnel and they resorted to firing. “It was the BDR personnel who opened fire first, aiming the Indian side of the border and we had no other option but to retaliate. We fired about six rounds in response to BDR’s firing. The BDR personnel always support the cattle smugglers to cross the border. We will be writing a protest letter to the BDR authorities on this issue,” Mr Saraswat added. A top BSF official said : “Residents of Bangladesh are facing an scarcity of cow meat as the prices have soared in that country. The slaughter houses are running dry there. As a result, cattle are being smuggled to Bangladesh from India.” The official said that the BDR had been opening fire along the borders in North 24-Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda districts 6o provide cover to cattle smugglers.
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