Two separate skirmishes between cattle smugglers and security forces along the Bangladesh border in Assam and West Bengal has led to the death of a BSF soldier and critical injury to another jawan respectively.
The incident along the Assam-Bangladesh border, in which a BSF jawan lost his life, took place on Sunday when Inspector Sanjay Kumar Sadhu fell into the Brahmaputra river in Dhubri while chasing cattle smugglers. Sadhu, 35, belonged to the sixth battalion of the Border Security Force. The inspector, native of Vadodara district in Gujarat, is survived by his wife, two daughters and a son, a senior official said. The wide Brahmaputra river in Dhubri district in Assam is a preferred route of smugglers and illegal immigrants. Although the river is patroled at the border, it is so wide that security forces are evaded by transpassers.
In another incident, where jawan was critically injured pertains to Gobardah border post in southern region of West Bengal. The incident happened on Tuesday where constable Anand Oran was attacked by a group of cattle smugglers while he was on the patrol. When the constable caught one of the smugglers, in the ensuing combat, the smuggler pressed the trigger of the pump action gun held by the jawan. The jawan, Oran, suffered pellet injuries in his stomach and collapsed. He belongs to the 153rd battalion.
The other members in the patrol team rescued Oran and caught the Bangladeshi smuggler, Minto Sardar of Satkhira district. Along with Sardar, 10 cattle heads were also seized in his possession. According to the officials, the constable is in a serious condition.
The porous border along Bangladesh is often used by cattle smugglers to illegally transport cattle from India to Bangladesh. Recently, the BSF discovered a new method adopted by smugglers to smuggle cattle across the border. Smugglers are using flooded rivers to send cattle to the other side. It is estimated that thousands of cattle are smuggled every year to Bangladesh through the 2216 KM long porous border.