Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh completely halted from south Bengal entrance: BSF report

There have been zero cattle smuggling incidents to Bangladesh this 12 months from one of many nation’s most infamous fronts in West Bengal, a primary because the Modi authorities declared in 2014 that the crime has to cease at any price.

The Kolkata-based south Bengal frontier of the Border Security Force (BSF) is tasked to guard 913.32 km of the India-Bangladesh worldwide border (IB) out of the whole 4,096 km, working throughout 5 States and it has recorded official figures to declare that no cattle was smuggled from its aspect until May, 2021.

Former Union Home Minister and present Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, whereas officiating because the chief visitor of the forty ninth BSF elevating day on December 1, 2014 in Delhi, had first informed the pressure that it “should stop the smuggling of cows and cattle at this border at any cost”. He reiterated this stand at numerous different public occasions at the same time as comparable assertions had been made by different Ministers and BJP chief Ministers. The knowledge shared with the BSF headquarters in Delhi and the Union Home Ministry has been accessed by PTI and it says that there was a “significant” curb on this crime underneath this entrance, that used to have a 75% share out of the whole cattle smuggling prevalent alongside this border.

This frontier has jurisdiction over 5 border districts of West Bengal: North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Nadia, Murshidabad and Malda, and solely 405 km or 44.34% of the boundary is fenced as a big half is riverine, has charlands and at sure locations villages are proper on the IB.

The knowledge mentioned whereas 710 cattle heads had been seized by BSF personnel until May this 12 months, a constant decline was observed with 51,443 seizures in 2017, 38,657 in 2018, 29,720 throughout 2019 and 5,445 cattle seized final 12 months.

It provides that zero variety of cattle reached Bangladesh from this entrance this 12 months until May and the same decline in these numbers was observed starting with 8.69 lakh in 2017, 5.22 lakh in 2018, 1.23 lakh in 2019 and three,628 final 12 months.

The knowledge report mentioned as no cattle was smuggled, no authorities public sale of cattle may happen this 12 months in Bangladeshi corridors reverse this frontier like Jessore, Kushtia and Rajshahi.

Frontier chief Inspector General (IG) Ashwini Kumar Singh mentioned the figures are plausible when requested in regards to the authenticity of the info.

“This data is almost reliable…it is such a long front (under our jurisdiction) and may be 2-4 cattle may have gone un-noticed [to Bangladesh] but I can guarantee that none of the cross-border cattle smugglers has succeeded this year.” “We have brought cattle smuggling down to zero as compared to handling 75 pc of the total trans-border cattle smuggling to Bangladesh over the last few years,” Mr. Singh mentioned.

The knowledge added that due to declining cattle smuggling, leather-based, beef and porcelain objects making trade in Bangladesh has suffered “a lot of loss” and the federal government there has promoted native animal husbandry so as to make farmers and different cattle rearers self-reliant.

IG Singh mentioned the “achievement” has been the trouble of a three-pronged technique adopted by the pressure that included motivating subject personnel, checking their connivance with smugglers and drawing new operational methods. “I told my men that we are here to stop this crime and we need to stop it totally. They worked hard,” he mentioned.

While the IG refused to say as to what number of BSF personnel had been caught and punished for being hand-in-glove with the smugglers, official sources mentioned the numbers had been “substantial”. BSF Additional Director General (east) Pankaj Kumar Singh had informed reporters at Kolkata in January that three pressure personnel had been suspended and 6 transferred for his or her alleged involvement in cattle smuggling.

BSF south Bengal deputy IG (intelligence) S.S. Guleria says “effective border guarding has resulted in completely stopping cattle smuggling to Bangladesh from this front that has been going on since the last four decades or so”.

“We are utilising the gains achieved in cattle smuggling to check other trans-border crimes like human and narcotics trafficking,” Mr. Guleria, a gallantry medal winner, mentioned.

As per official knowledge, the south Bengal frontier registered about 400 police FIRs towards cattle smugglers or smuggling cases and performed about 30 joint operations with different legislation enforcement businesses between 2018-20.

A senior Home Ministry officer, nonetheless, mentioned whereas cattle smuggling figures all alongside the India-Bangladesh border have drastically gone down starting 2019, it was “a work in progress” to be sure that numbers are introduced down to a zero in different areas like the remainder of Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura.

Official data present {that a} complete of 46,809 cattle had been seized all alongside the Bangladesh border in 2020 whereas the numbers up to date until May this 12 months stand at 9,434.