SHILLONG, April 9: Stones were reportedly pelted at and abuses were hurled on BSF personnel by smugglers when the former were seizing cattle that were meant to be smuggled into neighbouring Bangladesh.
In a statement, the BSF Meghalaya said that it seized 68 cattle from different locations along the Indo-Bangladesh border which were meant to be smuggled into the neighbouring country.
“The cattle were tethered covertly in a forest area close to international boundary. BSF, acting on specific tip-off, cordoned off the cattle-dumping area and seized all the cattle, although miscreants/smugglers resisted by using abusive language and pelted stones on BSF troops,” the statement said.
The seized cattle have been, meanwhile, handed over to concerned police outposts by the BSF.
Informing that over 100 cattle heads have been confiscated within the past 48 hours, the BSF said that the spike in the demand for cattle in Bangladesh may be attributed to upcoming Eid-ul-Fitr and Eid-ul-Adha.
“The Border Security Force has identified vulnerable routes/patches used frequently by cattle smugglers and are dominating the sensitive areas by deploying additional manpower and gadgets,” it said.