Preventing transborder crimes

The DRI estimates that about one-sixth of the total volume of gold entering India, is by way of illicit trade. India imports about 800-850 tonnes of gold every year while its annual consumption is around 1,000 tonnes. This suggests that roughly 150-200 tonnes of gold are being smuggled into the country every year, the report adds. This indicates that vigil against gold smuggling on India-Bangladesh will require coordinated action by border guarding forces to keep the smugglers at bay. Besides gold, narcotics, Fake Indian Currency Notes, food products and other consumer goods are also smuggled through the porous border and taking advantage of difficulty in border guarding along the riverine sections. BSF troops arresting several Indian and Bangladeshi cattle smugglers post lockdown period in the recent period point towards smugglers' gangs trying to intensify the illicit activities. Even in July during the lockdown period, the BSF apprehended 20 Indian smugglers and seized 960 cattle being smuggled to Bangladesh through different sections of the international borders in Dhubri, South Salmara districts in Assam and Cooch Behar district in West Bengal. The BSF troops also recovered Rs 61.77 lakh from the smugglers while speak volume of the illicit cattle market in India and Bangladesh. State police forces in Assam and West Bengal need to intensify operations inside the respective state against cattle smuggling to reduce the pressure on the BSF on the border. The fact that cattle smuggling is on the rise despite increasing number of seizures by the BSF calls for better coordination by the two countries to prevent the crime within their territories. In some incidents, the smugglers resort to violence often prompting the BSF to open fire which result in loss of human lives.

It is strategy by the smugglers to mount pressure on both the border guarding forces to remain more focused on the incidents of loss of human lives on the border in BSF firing so that they can carry on with their smuggling activities. The BSF and the BGB should not fall into such traps laid by the smugglers and share real time information on such transborder crimes so that timely and coordinated action can be taken to nab the smugglers. Bangladesh side is expected to raise the incidents of BSF firings and loss of innocent Bangladeshi lives in the four-day DG-level meeting. India and Bangladesh in the recent period has initiated a number of steps aimed at increasing connectivity through land and water ways which will go long way in ending the landlocked situation of Assam and other North-eastern states. The softening of the international border facilitating export and people to people exchange has strengthened the relations between the two neighbouring countries. The transborder smuggling and other crimes, illegal migrations pose grave threat to such friendly relations as the international border tends to become hard to prevent such crimes. Only coordinated border management can ensure that the India-Bangladesh border remains secure from all kinds of transborder crimes so that it can be softened further when needed.