Cattle smuggling to Bangladesh down, but stringent laws remain a distant dream

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Nearly 43 kms of the Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district in Assam for instance does not have a barbed wire fence as this stretch passes right through the Brahmaputra. Though the BSF has stepped up vigil, a large number of cattle continue to be “pushed out” with the smugglers making the best use of the open riverine border.

“The modus operandi is simple. A herd of say 30 to 40 cows are tied together with several ropes and pushed into the river in the middle of the night. The animals either swim or float across the unseen border that passes through the Brahmaputra, and once they are on the other side, a group of people would drag or pull them to the other bank,” said a police officer who had served in Dhubri for several years. The transaction is simply by hawala, he said.

BSF officials agree that smugglers are always on the look-out to outsmart the security personnel post along the international border. “They (the smugglers) keep innovating new ways of taking the cattle across. While the river route is the most common, we have been able to prevent considerably in the last few months, and the increased seizure is one proof of that,” said a senior BSF official who did not want to be named.

The seizure data for the current years in the Assam-North Bengal sector shows that while 1749 cattle were seized by the BSF in January, the figure shot up to 4363 in July, 4347 in August and 1896 till September 10. Seizure in Dhubri is much more than in Falakata and Coochbehar (these two sectors of the border being in North Bengal.

Of the 23,774 cattle seized by the BSF in the current year, as many as 16,189 were made in the Dhubri sector, 6,665 in Coochbehar, and only 890 in Falakata, official statistics said. In comparison, the seizures in the previous two years was definitely less: 12,920 in 2013 and 10,364 in 2014. While cows come from all over, including Haryana, UP, Bihar, Chattisgarh, as also from Assam, the total seizure will be higher, taking the police seizure into account.

Media reports in Dhaka, quoting Bangladesh Customs statistics said more than 21 lakh animals (cow, buffalo and goat) had entered that country from India during 2013-14. With no cattle export mechanism in place between the two countries, every animal is definitely smuggled.

Reports also said that while Bangladesh Customs collect a “fine” of 500 Taka on each cow, 6,000 Taka on camel and 200 taka on goat and sheep, the authorities collected about 11 million Taka (US$ 1,40,000) as “fine” on such cattle in six border districts – Jessore, Khulna, Rangpur, Sylhet, Chittagong and Rajshahi during 2013-14. Traders are also issued a “pass” for taking such cattle to other districts after the “fine” legitimizes the animals.

“The problem is not just with smuggling, but in the absence of stringent laws. Once a truck-load of cattle is intercepted, we can at the best invoke the provisions of Prevention of Cruety to Animals Act and Transportaion of Animals Rules. Crimes under these provisions are non-cognizable and we cannot arrest an offender,” said Dhubri SP Diganta Bora.

With inter-state transportation of cattle not banned or restricted, traders continue to bring cattles by the truck-load to Dhubri district in Assam with proper challan and other documents. Given this situation, officials of the police, veterinary, transport and other departments can right now at the most only harass a cattle trader.

Traders take full advantage of the situation, bring truckloads of cattle to Dhubri, often push them into a situation where the animals are seized, then buy them back in the auctions and still make good money.

As the authorities – police and BSF included – cannot stop people from buying cows, last step is the easiest: get every family in a border village “buy” two or three cows, herd them together at night and push them into the river. Before sunrise they are there in Bangladesh. “No BSF or police officer can stop a herd of cows moving towards the river,” said another official.