Border criminals target BSF troops in Bengal

KOLKATA: Border criminals in West Bengal have now resorted to desperate measures to disrupt efforts by the Border Security Force (BSF) to thwart smuggling and other crimes along the Indo-Bangladesh border.
On Friday, a mob attacked BSF personnel travelling in a Gypsy from one Border Outpost (BOP) to another in Murshidabad's Jalangi. The driver was injured and the vehicle severely damaged.An FIR has been lodged by the BSF at Sagarpara police station.
According to the BSF, personnel of the 117Bn were travelling from Kaharpara BOP to Kakmarichar when the attack took place near Sahebnagar market around 10.20am.
Nearly 250 locals had blocked the road there when the BSF vehicle reached the spot. The windshield of the Gypsy was smashed with bricks and rods and the driver was injured in the leg.
It was a quick reaction by the driver that saved the day for the other BSF personnel who may have been lynched. The driver reversed the vehicle and managed to drive to a safe location.
"We then tried to find out what had caused the mob to react in that manner. It seems that some criminals had incited the mob by falsely accusing the BSF of assaulting a man who had died of natural causes. Rumours were spread that one Tufazul Sheikh (62) had gone to his agricultural plot beyond the border fence with two others on Monday and was assaulted by our personnel of the Kakmarichar BOP. Nothing of this sort happened," a senior BSF official said.
It has now come to light that Tufazul was ill for quite some time and taken by relatives to the local hospital on Thursday with a high fever.
From there, he was taken to another hospital that referred Tufazul to the Behrampore Medical College and Hospital. He died there around noon on Thursday due to his ailments.
When the body returned to the village, criminals took advantage of the situation and blamed the BSF for his death. The locals complied, hoping for financial assistance for the family.
"How come any assault was not reported to the police, senior BSF officers or even the gram panchayat members or pradhan for four days? These charges are totally fabricated. A few days ago, a similar attempt was made to tarnish the image of the BSF at Gaighata in North 24-Parganas after some youths in inebriated condition were stopped from organising a political procession along the border road as such activities aren't allowed there," the officer from the BSF's South Bengal Frontier said.