CBI arrests BSF commandant in cattle-smuggling case

The Central Bureau of Investigation has arrested a Border Security Force (BSF) commandant for his alleged function in the smuggling of cattle to Bangladesh through West Bengal.

The accused, Satish Kumar, was booked together with three merchants named Enamul Haque, Anarul Sheikh and Mohammed Golam Mustafa. The company had earlier arrested Haque.

In September, the CBI searched the premises of the accused at 13 places in West Bengal’s Kolkata and Murshidabad, Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh, Amritsar in Punjab and Chhattisgarh’s Raipur, the place the officer was presently posted.

From December 19, 2015, to April 22, 2017, he was posted as commandant in the 36 Battalion of BSF in the Malda district. The company alleged that in his tenure, greater than 20,000 cows have been seized by the power, however the individuals concerned in the cattle smuggling weren’t apprehended. Their automobiles have been additionally not seized.

It is alleged that there was a nexus between BSF personnel, Customs officers and the merchants, as a consequence of which seizure lists of the cattle have been ready arbitrarily, categorising the breed and measurement of animals with a motive to carry down their worth throughout auctions, which resulted in much less income for the federal government.

After shopping for the cattle at less expensive charges, the accused individuals confirmed them to have been disposed of in the native market and smuggled them to Bangladesh.

Haque allegedly used to pay ₹2,000 per cattle head to BSF officers and ₹500 to the Customs officers, who would additionally take 10 per cent of the public sale worth in bribe from the profitable bidders.

The commandant had allegedly obtained his son employed in the Haque Industries Private Limited, at a wage of over ₹30,000 per thirty days from May 2017 to December 2017, in line with the FIR.