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BSF constable killed by cattle smugglers near Indo-Bangladesh border
HT Correspondent 1 hour ago
© Provided by Hindustan Times BSF constable Vivek Tiwari challenged the cattle smugglers by firing from his rifle and alerted his colleague who was around 80 metres away. He then chased the smugglers in the dense fog without waiting for his colleagues to…
KOLKATA: A Border Security Force (BSF) constable was allegedly killed by cattle smugglers at Malda in north Bengal in the early hours of Monday, officials said.
According to senior BSF officials, Vivek Tiwari, 30, a constable with the 59 Battalion, was overpowered and drowned in a canal by cattle smugglers close to the Indo-Bangladesh border.
“We have lodged a complaint with the Bamangola police station in Malda. A case has been initiated,” said SS Guleria, DIG BSF (South Bengal Frontier).
According to BSF officials, Tiwari was on patrolling duty in the early hours of January 10 when he spotted cattle being smuggled across a canal located close to the international border.
“He challenged the smugglers by firing from his rifle and alerted his colleague who was around 80 metres away. He then chased the smugglers in the dense fog without waiting for his colleagues to arrive. He was intercepted, overpowered and drowned by the cattle smugglers,” said Guleria.
Tiwari, who hails from Azamgarh in Uttar Pradesh is survived by his wife, who is pregnant, and a one-year-old daughter. He joined the BSF in May 2017.
Among all states West Bengal has the longest and one of the most porous international boundaries. The state shares 2216 km international border with Bangladesh. It also shares around 100km border with Nepal and 183 km border with Bhutan.
Data placed by the union ministry of home affairs in parliament in March 2020 shows that in 2017, 2018 and 2019 security agencies arrested 1175, 1118 and 1351 people respectively along the entire stretch of the Indo-Bangla border in India.
The Union government has recently amended the BSF Act to authorise the force to undertake search, seizure and arrest within a larger 50 km stretch, instead of the existing 15 kms, from the international border in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam.
Following the decision, a political row erupted in the state with the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) in West Bengal hitting out at the Centre alleging that it was an infringement on state land through the back door. The Congress echoed the TMC.
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Source: BSF constable killed by cattle smugglers near Indo-Bangladesh border (msn.com)