Cattle traders in Rajshahi staged a protest today after members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) seized cows from the market, suspecting they were smuggled from India.
However, the traders claimed that the cows were local and legally purchased.
The demonstration took place around noon in front of the BGB Rajshahi Battalion-1 headquarters in Shalbagan. They blocked the Rajshahi-Naogaon highway for a short time before BGB officials dispersed the crowd.
According to the protesters, the protest followed a BGB operation earlier in the morning in Paba upazila’s Bagdhani, Bagsara, and Duari areas. During the drive, four trucks carrying a total of 24 cows were seized and brought to the BGB headquarters. They claimed the cows were bought from local farmers and not smuggled from India.
Robiul Islam, a cattle trader present at the protest, said, “We were bringing cows from Tanore to the City Cattle Market. The animals were bought from local farmers in the area. None of these are Indian cows.”
Another trader, Safiul Islam, echoed the same, claiming all six cows seized from him were local and bought from villages in Baya. He said that he has invested all his capital into this. If the cows are taken away, he will be left helpless.
Mohammad Shamsul Alam, another cattle trader, questioned the logic of the seizure and said, “With tight security at the border, how can Indian cows even enter the country? These are cows we’ve raised and brought to the market after months of care.”
Following the protest, a meeting was held between BGB officials and market leaseholders at the battalion headquarters.
Riazul Islam, a leaseholder of the market, said that a total of 37 cows had been seized by BGB over the past two days. All of these were local cows.
In response, BGB-1 Sector Commander Col Md Imran Ibne Abdur Rouf said that the cows were indeed Indian and had been properly identified. They have discussed the matter with the traders.
“If the cows were legal, why don’t they have proper documentation?” he said. The seized animals have already been sent to Rajshahi Customs.