At least five persons, including two Border Security Force (BSF) personnel, were injured when villagers attacked a border outpost in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills district on Sunday night (June 26), officials said.
The incident took place around 10 pm at Umsyiem village near Dawki town, 100 km south of the state capital of Shillong, when a mob attacked the outpost, officials said on Monday. BSF Meghalaya Frontier Inspector General Pradip Kumar told PTI, “In the last few days, we seized a huge number of items meant to be smuggled to Bangladesh and identified the smugglers. Due to this, they led a mob to attack the outpost forcing the BSF to retaliate by firing in the air.”
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At least two BSF personnel were injured when they were hit in stone pelting by the mob, he said. Some of the villagers tried to enter the outpost forcefully and they were pushed back, he added. At least three villagers were also injured, according to eyewitnesses.
The smuggling bid was unearthed when a vehicle with three occupants allegedly broke down near the outpost, the eyewitness told PTI. This infuriated the BSF who accused the trio of being smugglers and charged at them. The news of the attack spread and nearby villagers came to their rescue, he said. The villagers also accused the BSF personnel of being drunk on duty, which was refuted by IG Kumar.
All personnel at the border are strictly not allowed to drink, Kumar said. Local police and senior BSF officials have rushed to the spot to contain the situation, even as an inquiry has been instituted.
(With agency inputs)