KOCHI: And the water turns murkier. The CBI probe into the arrest of a Malayali BSF Commandant with Rs 47 lakh he received as bribe, is now pointing fingers towards Customs officers in West Bengal.The CBI has received information regarding the involvement of Customs officers in West Bengal in the high-level corruption which was facilitating smuggling across the India-Bangladesh border.
It has found the cattle which was caught for smuggling was allegedly auctioned off by the Customs officers to the smuggling rackets for cheap prices, flouting the norms.The CBI has found besides smuggling cattle, arrested Kolkata native Muhammad Inamul Haq – who had provided the money which CBI had seized from the possession of Jibu T Mathew, the Pathanamthitta native who was the BSF Commandant of the battalion posted on the border – also bought the cattle which Customs officers would “auction off”.
A CBI officer privy to the probe said Haq’s racket had close links with BSF and Customs officers.“The racketeers inform officers about the cattle smuggling taking place on the border which leads to the BSF ‘seizing’ the cattle. The cattle, at times numbering in thousands, is then handed over to the Customs Department. The Customs officers auction off the livestock in the presence of the racketeers. The size and the number of cattle which was seized is purposefully changed so that the prices can be reduced,” the officer said.
The cattle is sold to racketeers for extremely cheap prices, with the knowledge of Customs officers, the CBI officer said.“The cattle thus auctioned are again sold to cattle smugglers at a high price. Again, the BSF and Customs officers are tipped off about the smuggling and the entire process is repeated. This cycle has been going on for several years and netted Haq crores of rupees as profit, a share of which is given to BSF and Customs officers,” the CBI officer said.
The officer said they had a list of BSF and Customs officers who received illegal gratification for facilitating smuggling activities at the Indo-Bangladesh border.“Surely, there would be more accused in the case and more persons have been involved in facilitating smuggling and other illegal activities across the border,” he said
The CBI has frozen Haq’s accounts. “There are crores of rupees in his bank account in multiple banks. He also possesses a licence to export sugar and onions to Bangladesh,” the officer said.The probe which was launched following Jibu’s arrest had led to the arrest of Haq.It was also revealed Haq was arraigned in a heroine smuggling case but was acquitted by a Sessions Court in West Bengal. An appeal in the case is currently under consideration.
Smuggling activities on the Indo-Bangla border
The officer said they had a list of BSF and Customs officers who received illegal gratification for facilitating smuggling activities at the Indo-Bangladesh border. “Surely, there would be more accused in the case and more persons have been involved in facilitating smuggling and other illegal activities across the border,” he said