BSF Constable Drowns While Chasing Cow Smugglers Near Indo-Bangla Border

A Border Security Force (BSF) constable drowned in river Padma while chasing cow smugglers near the Indo-Bangla border in West Bengal's Murshidabd district, an official said.

A BSF patrol party noticed miscreants along with cattle heads trying to cross over to Bangladesh on Thursday night, said a BSF official.

The BSF troops challenged them to stop but they did not pay any heed and continued to move with cattle heads with intention to smuggle them to Bangladesh. The smugglers were armed with sticks and other sharp edged weapons, a BSF release said.

During the operation constable Debashis Roy who was part of patrol party ran towards the smugglers to apprehend them.

"During the chase, he ran after the smugglers and jumped into Padma River to catch them. During this process he got entangled in mud and could not come out from the water and made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty," the release said.

The BSF patrol team apprehended 11 Indian and one Bangladeshi miscreant and caught 74 cattle heads during the operation, the official said. The apprehended smugglers and the cattle were handed over to the police, he added.