An alleged cattle smuggler from Bangladeshi was gunned down by Border Security Force personnel along the frontier in Malda district on Saturday morning.

BSF sources said a group of smugglers from Bangladesh had entered within 200 metres of the Indian territory around 6am to receive cattle from their Indian associates.

“Our on-duty personnel noticed them and they were asked to stop. However, the smugglers instead attacked our men with stones and sharp weapons. Initially, non-lethal weapons were used to disperse them. But as they turned more violent, our jawans had to open fire in self-defence,” said a BSF officer.

The incident occurred in the Pannapur area under Habibpur police station limits.

“One of the gang members was found dead near the border fences after sometime. Two cattle have also been retrieved from the spot,” said the BSF officer.

The deceased was Mokbul Hossain, 25, a resident of Krishnabad village in Naogaon district of Bangladesh.

The police seized the body and registered a case at Habibpur police station.

In Cooch Behar district, two villagers had been killed when the BSF had opened fire on a group of people who were allegedly smuggling cattle into Bangladesh in December.

An Indian and two Bangladeshis had been killed in BSF firing on the border in the same district on November 12.

Cigarettes seized

Police seized 24,000 packets of foreign cigarettes from a truck that was intercepted by Barobisha police outpost in Alipurduar district on Saturday morning.

Uddesh Kumar, the truck driver, has been arrested. The police also seized the vehicle.

The police made the seizure after receiving a tip-off. The truck was heading towards Siliguri from Assam.