New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday arrested a former Border Security Force (BSF) commandant in an illegal cattle trade case filed against him and other public servants two months ago.
Satish Kumar, the then commandant of BSF’s 36 Battalion, was arrested from Kolkata. He will be produced before a special court here on Wednesday.
The CBI on September 21 filed a First Information Report (FIR) against Kumar, three other persons and some unidentified public servants and persons on the allegations of illegal trade of cattle along the West Bengal-Bangladesh border.
The CBI said that some persons in connivance with public servants used to smuggle cattle through the India-Bangladesh border.
The preliminary enquiry conducted by the CBI revealed that during Kumar’s tenure as Commandant of 36 Battalion in Malda district of West Bengal between December 2015 and April 2017, more than 20,000 cattle were apprehended during a smuggling bid but were not seized and the smugglers were not apprehended.
“The cattle were auctioned within 24 hours of being seized and seizure lists were made arbitrarily categorising the breed and size of seized animals with an intention to reduce the upset price of the cattle during auctions. In lieu of that favour, Md Enamul Haque used to pay Rs 2,000 per cattle to BSF officials and Rs 500 to concerned customs officials,” the FIR by CBI read.
The central probe agency has also conducted searches at the the premises of the accused as the investigation is continuing.