Coochbehar, November 12: The Border Security Forces (BSF) on Friday killed three persons including one Indian and two Bangladeshis, suspected to be cattle smugglers, at Sat Bhandari area in West Bengal's Coochbehar on Friday. Though BSF claimed that they had to open fire following the aggressive attitude of the intruders, the incident triggered political controversy and Trinamool Congress alleged that the killing was a result of the high-handed attitude of the BSF.

The issue fuelled the controversy of the Centre's recent decision to extend the jurisdiction of the BSF from 15 km to 50 km. However, in a statement on Friday's incident, the BSF said a soldier was also injured in the incident. "On Friday, at around 3 a.m., miscreants from the Bangladesh side ventured into Indian territory and tried to smuggle cattle heads by establishing improvised bamboo cantilever. BSF domination ahead of the fence warned them to go back, but miscreants didn't pay heed to BSF warning (sic)," the statement said. Cow Vigilantes Seek Action Against Cattle Smugglers in Gurugram. 

It added that the troops resorted to non-lethal ammunition but the duo allegedly attacked the soldiers with iron dha (a kind of sharp weapon), a type of knife, and sticks. "Sensing imminent threat to life, the BSF party fired in the air towards miscreants. Later on search, dead bodies of two unknown miscreants were found between the border fence and the international boundary," the BSF statement said. Cattle Smugglers Assault BSF Personnel Along The India-Bangladesh Border, Several Injured.

On Friday, Union Home Secretary Ajay Bhalla held talks with the West Bengal government officials including Chief Secretary HK Diwedi over the issues of border fencing and land acquisition along the border. Meanwhile, the region where the firing incident took place remains tense as various intrusions have been intercepted by the BSF in the last few months.

Though the identity of the two Bangladeshis is yet to be known, the Indian person was identified as Prakash Burman who is a resident of Sat Bhandari village. "He was called at the dead of the night by some people and he went out. He didn't tell us where he was going and, in the morning, we came to know that he was killed in BSF firing," a relative of Burman said.

Friday's incident in Cooch Behar also took a political turn when Trinamool Congress MLA Jagadish Basuniya blamed it on the extension of BSF jurisdiction. "This happened because jurisdiction of the BSF has been increased... The BSF is supposed to fire rubber bullets first. But in this case, they did not do so," the MLA said. Cooch Behar is the Lok Sabha constituency of Minister of State for Home Nisith Pramanik.

Alleging that the BSF is hand in glove with the smugglers and infiltrators, Guha said, "They have a fencing in Coochbehar which is secure and hard to cross. They only open the gates three times for an hour each time. Now in this condition, how can infiltrators enter without their help? The central government should try to control its forces first without trying to overstep into the jurisdiction of the state," MLA of Dinhata in Coochbehar said.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 12, 2021 08:47 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).