BSF kills suspected cattle smuggler; tension in Cooch Behar

Kolkata: Following the killing of a suspected cattle smuggler by the Border Security Force (BSF) in West Bengal’s Cooch Behar district, tension has been brewing in the India-Bangladesh border region, IANS reports.

The BSF and the local residents are raising contradictory claims on the death of the man who was killed in BSF firing, Prem Kumar Burman (24), a resident of Gitaldaha village here.

BSF said that Burman was seen under suspicious circumstances near the border fencing on Saturday morning. Despite BSF warning him to leave the place, he quarrelled with troops and attacked a jawan, prompting the force to open fire.

But Burman’s family said that he had no connection with cattle smuggling but went to the border area for work. He was shot down without provocations, they claimed.

The additional superintendent of police of Cooch Behar said the body had been sent for post-mortem, and a detailed investigation would be initiated after receiving the autopsy report.

Last week, two persons were killed in BSF firing in two separate incidents in the Cooch Behar district. One of them was an Indian national.

The Trinamool Congress has been vocal for quite some time against the alleged highhandedness of the BSF personnel posted at different border outposts in West Bengal. In fact, at the recent meeting of the Eastern Zonal Council in Kolkata, which was chaired by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah, the state government representatives raised this issue. In reply, Shah pointed out that checking cross-border crimes is not the sole responsibility of the BSF.