Head Constable Sartaj Singh (42) was deployed at Gobardah border outpost in the district on February 4 when he and his colleagues intercepted a 100-strong squad of suspected cow smugglers in the wee hours.
"The smugglers who came from across the border attacked the BSF party and two troops, including Sartaj, sustained serious injuries. At a hospital in Kolkata today, Sartaj succumbed to his injuries which were largely sustained by him because of stones and kicking during the incident," a senior BSF officer said.
"We have registered an official protest with the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) for not intercepting the smugglers in their area of responsibility", the officer added.
"During the attack, three Bangladeshi nationals were apprehended and 32 cattle heads were seized from the place of incident," a statement by the South Bengal Frontier of BSF, whose headquarters is in Kolkata, said.
According to Border Security Force (BSF) officials, Sartaj exercised full restraint and did not fire at the smugglers even though he had a weapon.
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