The Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire in the air and fired stun grenades and pellets using Pump Action Gun (PAG) to chase away cattle smugglers in separate incidents along the India-Bangladesh border on Friday night.
Sources in the BSF said the non-lethal weapons like PAG and stun grenades were used in self-defence when the smugglers advanced towards the jawans of the border security agency despite warnings.
“At Khutadaha border in Malda district, jawans noticed smugglers moving towards the fencing from Indian side with some cattle. Another group from Bangladesh managed to cross over the fencing and entered India’s territory. The jawans on duty challenged them to stop but the smugglers did not pay any heed. Instead, some of them aggressively moved towards the jawans brandishing sharp-edged spears in their hands while the rest of the smugglers tried to cut the fencing. We had to fire two rounds in the air,” said a BSF official.
On hearing the sound of firing, the smugglers retreated taking advantage of grasses, heap of soils and darkness. “The area was thoroughly searched and eight bulls of Haryana origin and three spears were recovered from the fields near the fencing,” said the official.
Earlier in the day, BSF personnel foiled another attempt to smuggle cattle to Bangladesh at the same border area. After the smuggled fled, the BSF men rescued 10 Haryana-origin bulls which were brought to smuggle.
Similar attempts to smuggle cattle and infiltrate were foiled at Pipli in North 24 Parganas, Harishchandrapur and Nawada in Malda districts. “We had to fire stun grenades and pellets using PAGs to disperse the groups. A primary report has been registered with the concerned police stations regarding the firing done in self-defence,” said the official.
Stun grenade is a non-lethal explosive device that creates a loud bang and a blinding flash of light to temporarily disorient a suspect’s senses.
According to BSF sources, BSF jawans are performing duty along the border areas with extraordinary courage and vigilance. “Despite frequent flag meetings with Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) to alert them about frequent attacks and illegal intrusion by Bangladeshi criminals, no concrete action has been taken by our counterparts in Bangladesh,” said an officer of the BSF’s south Bengal frontier.
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