Guwahati: The Border Security Force (BSF) has seized 1242 cattle during April this year alone while
those were being smuggled out to Bangladesh across the parts of the international border in Assam and Meghalaya even as the force claims that number of cattle smuggling incidents are on decline of late because of geared up vigil.
Out of these 514 cattle were seized on the border in Assam by the BSF operating under Guwahati Frontier headquarter while rest 728 cattle were seized in border areas in Meghalaya.
Eight Indians and one Bangladeshi national were too apprehended in the process. Guwahati frontier comprises of border areas with Bangladesh in Assam’s Brahmaputra Valley and North Bengal.
A senior BSF official, however, claims that number of cattle smuggling incidents have come down of late because of mounted vigil especially in Dhubri sector in Assam. The official informed that border personnel had been instructed to try as much as possible to apprehend the men involved in sneaking out cattle across the border.
The official, however, said the it was not the responsibility of the BSF to find out sources of the cattle that were seized on the border.
The BSF hands over the seizure and apprehended persons to the state police which in turn hands over the cattle to Customs Department.
Claiming that incidents of cattle smuggling have come down especially across the border under Guwahati frontier because of mounted vigil, the official said, “Now, average 500 cattle are seized on the border. But there were instances in the past when 400 cattle were seized on a single day in areas under Guwahati Frontier headquarter of the force.”
“The situation was quite worse in 2015 when average 3000 cattle per month were seized during monsoon months in frontier areas of Assam valley. But the things have improved for better because of mounted vigil especially in Dhubri sector in Assam. Now, there has been a trend of cattle smugglers shifting operations to Meghalaya frontier sectors,” he added.
Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal immediately after taking charge last year paid a visit to Dhubri sector of India-Bangladesh border to get a firsthand account of the BSF’s efforts to check infiltration across the border that also has a porous river section.
