Bihar: Two smugglers held with 32 camels

Police seized 32 camels being smuggled to Bangladesh and arrested two persons on Friday from a place in Kishanganj district in Bihar in connection with the smuggling. The camels, which were loaded on two trucks, were to be taken to Bangladesh through Islampur in West Bengal, District Superintendent of Police Rajeev Ranjan said. Two persons -- Hari Shankar of Etawa, and Shaan Mohammad of Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh -- were arrested.

Ranjan said the camels had been brought from Gwalior region in Madhya Pradesh by a syndicate specialising in smuggling animals to Bangladesh. The camels are brought to various areas of Bihar on the pretext of animal fairs during the winter and then sent across the border. Camels are also used for sacrificial purposes in Bangladesh.