BSF exposes Indo-Bangla smuggling racket on film

Even as the Eastern Railway authorities in Kolkata give final touches to the plans of a passenger train service between Kolkata and Joydebpur in Bangladesh, the issue of “security” assumes a significant dimension.

Even as the Eastern Railway authorities in Kolkata give final touches to the plans of a passenger train service between Kolkata and Joydebpur in Bangladesh, the issue of “security” assumes a significant dimension.

In a recent confidential report, backed by video footage, the Border Security Force, South Bengal, have exposed the modus operandi of the smuggling rackets across the border. The filmed report, titled The Burning Train is to be submitted to the BSF headquarters in Delhi, said senior BSF officials. It shows how goods are hidden away in cavities under the carriage just below the wheels.

IG, BSF, South Bengal Frontier, Somesh Goyal, said: “The bogies have been modified inside the railway yard to allow for cavities in the undercarriage where smugglers can stack up goods.”

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The BSF authorities have conducted around 139 operations in the past year, unearthing smuggled items worth Rs 41,96,964 and apprehending 16 people. A wide range of contraband like vegetable oils, electronic gadgets, salt and foreign currency are smuggled in this manner.

The cross-border freight train that passes through at Gede in North 24 Parganas — the passenger train to Bangladesh is supposed to follow the same route — has become a routine carrier of smuggled goods.

The Railway authorities claimed the BSF has not played an effective role in keeping a check on this malpractice. “The BSF is the enforcement agency. It is their responsibility. They have given us suggestions to construct barbed wire fencing around the platform area to prevent (smugglers) entry. This is impractical,” said SK Mandal, Divisional Railway Manager, Eastern Railway, Sealdah.

Currently, there is a regular passenger train service between Sealdah and Gede — 800 meters from the Indo-Bangla border. The freight train, heading for Darshana in Bangladesh, reaches Gede and after customs clearances crosses the border. Smugglers descend on the tracks when the train stops for a few minutes at Gede. They unscrew the metal plates to open up the cavities. where the goods are stashed and the cavity is resealed.

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The Railway and BSF South Bengal Frontier authorities have taken up the issue in meetings, but no concrete, co-ordinated approach has come up so far. The minutes for the last meeting in August 2005 highlights the blame game.

According to it, the Railway officials had said inquiries have revealed that smugglers fix and unfix the undercarriage, which mainly take place in areas “under the exclusive control of the BSF”. The BSF pointed out that “loading of smuggled goods in the undercarriage is carried out at Gede Railway station, in front of all the agencies — Railways, Customs, Immigration, RPF and GRP”.

The Railways and the BSF had even arrived at a consensus that there will be no movement of trains across the border from 6 pm to 6 am. This is routinely flouted as the authorities continue to be at loggerheads.