BSF officer in Tripura hit by cattle thieves

A Border Security Force (BSF) officer is battling serious head injuries after being attacked by suspected cattle smugglers on the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura on Monday morning.

Deepak Mondal, who is officiating as the Commandant and is the second-in-command officer of 145th battalion of the force, was airlifted to Kolkata in a critical state, BSF officers said.

The incident happened around 2 am near the Belardeppa border post in Sipahijala district when the officer was allegedly hit by a four-wheeler used by the smugglers.

The officer along with his team was on patrol to check cattle smuggling along the international border.

Officials said that the border area manned by them is not fenced. Mondal saw some cattle smugglers and challenged them, he said, adding the officer along with his guard and driver tried to stop them. "The group of about 25 smugglers were carrying bricks, sticks and machetes. The officer was on a routine visit to supervise night domination in border areas when he saw the smugglers, and he challenged and tried to stop them. Simultaneously, he called for reinforcement from BOP Belardappa," said a BSF officer.

An accompanying Border Security Force jawan fired five rounds from his AK rifle to control the situation, he added. However, the smugglers escaped. The area has been cordoned off.