Smuggling and women trafficking rampant at Indo-Bangla border: BSF

Kolkata, Oct 29 (UNI) It is very difficult to stop smuggling of cattle from India to Bangladesh with over 35 per cent of the border being highly porous, BSF officials said here today.

Addressing newspersons at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport, BSF South Bengal Director General (DG) A K Mitra said about 1,13,000 cattle were smuggled from India to Bangladesh last year.

The DG arrived here today from Dhaka after attending the biannual meeting of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) from October 24-29.

He said cattle-smuggling was related to the local economy of both the countries.

''While there is huge demand for cattle in Bangladesh, in India, it is in surplus,'' Mr Mitra said.

Smuggling of fake Indian currency notes was also a serious problem in the border areas, he added.

The BSF had seized counterfeit Indian currency notes worth Rs five lakh so far this year, he informed, adding that the Bangladeshi officials had also admitted that smuggling of fake Bangladeshi currency notes was also posing a threat.

The BSF had submitted a list of 176 centres in Bangladesh which were being used for carrying out subversive activities in India by extremist groups.

The BDR also admitted that there might be some submissive groups active in Bangladesh after the BSF submitted the reviewed list of 140 such camps to the BDR.

Women trafficking between India and Bangladesh was also a serious problem, Mr Mitra said, adding that the BSF had rescued 18 Bangladeshi women so far this year.

He opined that train services between the two countries through the Gede border in Nadia district could start only after adequate security arrangements were implemented by the BDR on their side of the border.

UNI