Months after the Union government enhanced the operational limits of the Border Security Force (BSF) in Punjab, West Bengal and Assam, the border guarding force carried out its first operation under the increased powers to catch cattle being smuggled illegally out of Assam.
The operation initiated from Bangladesh border on March 21 in Assam’s Silchar district entailed the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) to seize a truck carrying nine buffaloes, more than 15 km from their outpost at Balichera.
A senior official said the increased territorial jurisdiction helped them plan operations better and also curtailed the ability of criminal elements to organise closer to the border areas. The Assam operation was based on a specific intelligence available with the border guarding force. “A special operation party, acting on a tip off, intercepted a truck near National Highway–6, near Digarkhal. The truck driver fled but the cattle was rescued and handed over to the police,” the official said.
