The Border Security Force (BSF) arrested four Bangladeshi cattle smugglers in a successful operation along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal’s Malda, officials said on Monday.
Acting on specific intelligence on February 2, a BSF soldier at a border outpost in Itaghati spotted suspicious individuals attempting to cross the border from Bangladesh into India under the cover of darkness and fog.
The soldier immediately alerted fellow personnel and the patrol party. Noticing the BSF’s movement, the smugglers took advantage of unfenced sections of the border and fled towards the nearby village of Adampur, attempting to hide in the surrounding bushes.
However, as news of the smugglers’ presence quickly spread through the village, the locals joined the forces in a coordinated search, ultimately leading to their arrest.
During interrogation, the smugglers confessed to being Bangladeshi nationals attempting to enter India for cattle smuggling. They stated that they were to receive Rs 40,000 for every two cattle smuggled from India to Bangladesh.
The arrested individuals have been handed over to the local police station for further investigation and legal proceedings.