Kolkata: Six BSF personnel were seriously injured when a patrol team of the force was attacked by about 100 cattle smugglers with sticks and sharp weapons near a border outpost in Siliguri on Tuesday.
The BSF patrol party had been sent to apprehend the smugglers who were trying to smuggle cattle from Leusipakuri border outpost and had seized 34 cows though they could not apprehend anyone.
"But when we were returning with the cattle to hand them over to police, around 100 cattle smugglers attacked us with sticks and sharp weapons. They also tried to seize the cattle.
Around six to seven of our jawans were seriously injured," a senior official of BSF's North Bengal Frontier said.
"In order to stop them we had to fire around six rounds in the air to disperse the smugglers," he said.
West Bengal is a hub for cattle smuggling because of the high demand for beef in neighbouring Bangladesh. Cattle from almost all over the country are sent to the state to be smuggled to Bangladesh.
However, cattle smugglers are finding it difficult to carry on in recent months after the vigil on the border has been enhanced to stop their activity.
