Cooch Behar: Villagers rough up BJP leader for his ‘involvement in cattle smuggling’

Cooch Behar: An incident involving villagers apprehending and assaulting a BJP leader accused of cattle smuggling has sparked significant controversy in the Gitaldaha area of Dinhata. The individual, identified as Muffazal Hussain, was handed over to the police late Thursday night after being caught by locals.

According to sources, Hussain reportedly entered a woman’s house in Gitaldaha village late at night. When the woman raised an alarm, villagers intervened, apprehending and beating him. During the ordeal, Hussain allegedly confessed that he had come to the area to engage in cattle smuggling.

Notably, he had been previously arrested in a separate incident involving Yaba tablets near the border. Responding to the incident, North Bengal Development minister Udayan Guha criticised the BJP and the Border Security Force (BSF), alleging collusion in border smuggling operations. He remarked: “Smuggling from border areas cannot occur without BSF’s involvement. BJP leaders, including Muffazal Hussain, often facilitate these activities. Despite being a former Mandal vice-president of the BJP, the party remains silent on such incidents.”

However, BJP District Secretary Biraj Bose refuted the allegations, stating: “Muffazal Hussain is not a BJP worker. He was expelled from the party before the Lok Sabha elections. The truth will emerge if the police conduct a thorough investigation into the matter.”