Villagers gheraoed BSF jawans

 

COOCH BEHAR, June 21: Residents of Uttar Balabhut village in Tufanganj sub-division confined three BSF jawans for a few hours. They were set free after intervention of senior administrative and BSF officials. A probe also started into the matter.

 

It was learnt that construction of a bridge on Khata river was going on at Uttar Balabhut under Tufanganj police station. The place is near the Indo-Bangladesh border. Seventeen workers engaged in the construction work live in a camp on the bank of the river. A BSF border outpost is there to check infiltration and smuggling. Activists of different militant outfits reportedly use this area as a safe passage.

 

At early hours of today a team of four BSF jawans engaged in patrolling duty reportedly saw that someone was showing light signal in the dark and then entered into the camp. Suspecting a bid to cattle smuggling the jawans forced their entry into the camp and started questioning. They allegedly beat up the sleeping workers. Hearing hullabaloo from the camp villagers assembled there and gheraoed the camp. Local Panchayat functionaries too appeared there. The locals closed the gate of the camp yard with lock and key though one of the four jawans somehow managed to get out.

 

On getting information additional district magistrate (general) Mr Pannalal Mahapatra, sabhapati of Tufanganj-I Panchayat Samity Md Abdul Rezzak Mian, Tufanganj-I BDO Mr Sekhar Das and a senior BSF official rushed to the spot. In their presence the confined jawans were set free. The villagers narrated their grievances against BSF jawans and demanded security measures for the workers engaged in construction of the bridge. The situation restored to normalcy when the officials assured that they would look into the matter seriously.

 

On the otherhand, The BSF has initiated an inquiry into the incident according to Mr PJ Rao, Deputy Inspector General, Border Security Force, Cooch Behar Sector. Two accused BSF jawans are now under close-arrest. Punitive measures will be taken against the jawans if they were proved offenders in the inquiry, he declared.

 

Cooch Behar ADM (G) Mr Pannalal Mahapatra said that the allegation of beating up sleeping workers was very serious. "Taking the matter seriously we visited the spot. We will submit an inquiry report to the district magistrate", he said. []