A small-town railway station in Dinajpur has reportedly been co-opted by local smuggling syndicates who effectively control the traffic at the station to serve their illicit trade.
Couriers of contraband hop a ride on commandeered trains toting their illegal consignments of spices, clothes, phensedyl, jewellery, cosmetics and whatever else the market fancies.r
Hili Railway Station’s central role in India-Bangladesh cross-border smuggling is a result of its geographic location close to the international border, along a major regional train route.
The Indian border is just ten metres from Hili station’s railway tracks and the station connects to two major railway stations in Dinajpur, Sayedpur and Parbatipur. That provides smugglers with a safe and punctual transport infrastructure thirty feet from the source of the smuggled goods.
While Railway staff are known to indulge passengers and allow unscheduled stops on remote stretches of the railway network, the passengers who force train drivers to call at Hili station belong to powerful smuggling rings that dominate parts of the country’s far north.
Only two trains – Varendra Express and Titumir Express – have scheduled stops at Hili, but other trains frequently stop at the station under pressure from smuggling rackets.
With a nod from dishonest Government Railway Police (GRP) officials, drivers are strong-armed into stopping at the station to pick up smugglers.
And drivers have good reason to obey. On March 12 last year, rail links in the western zone were suspended for about two hours after alleged smugglers in Hili beat up the driver of the Rajshahi-bound Uttara Express for refusing to stop his train.
With an eye on the safety of his illegal stock, Rahman, the leader of a small-time smuggling group, says: “Trains offer the most secure way to transport goods from Hili. Roads and highways have become risky after the police and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) stepped up their surveillance and patrolling activities.
“Once the goods are loaded on the trains by the carriers, there is no risk of getting caught by law enforcers.”
He said Railway officials tell smugglers in advance exactly when the trains will come, so that smugglers can time their movements with precision. “When the trains cross Santahar or Birampur, they [Railway officials] inform us and our carriers take position at the station.”
Business is conducted after everyone is “managed” – a euphemism for bribery – Rahman said, when asked about BGB officials patrolling the station.
“If we want to stop a train, it is not very difficult for us because everyone from the local administration to the BGB takes tokens [a Railway-inspired euphemism for bribes] from us,” he said.
On April 7, Indian smuggler Biton Roy was shot dead by BGB at Hili station as a gang tried to load smuggled goods from Bangladesh onto a train coming from Joypurhat.
Police action leading to violence and death tends to occur when smugglers and officials disagree about some aspect of the transaction, usually the amount of money involved, said local sources.
Residents and those with knowledge of the smuggling operations said the police, BGB and local administration officials receive bribes from the smuggling syndicates.
But the bulk of the bribes go to Railway staff, they said.
Train attendants, GRP officials, ticket collectors and station guards effectively manage the logistics for the smuggling rings in exchange for money, organising unscheduled stops by passing trains so that smuggled goods can be sent onward to distant retailers.
“To make this happen, different groups manage different clients. One gang bribes only GRP officials, another manages the police while a third manages the local administration,” said the ringleader of a smuggling group.
He said the police, GRP and BGB are paid off to look the other way.
Ticket managers and station security guards are bribed to get the trains to stop at the station.
Locomotive drivers take money to break with the timetables and stop their trains; security guards take money to offer a suitable reason for the delay.
The divisional controller takes money to determine which train line is used for safe, unscheduled stops.
Local law enforcement sources said just 18 out of 43 kilometres of the India-Bangladesh border in Hili is fenced. Goods are passed along across the unfenced border, they said.
Railway officials involved in smuggling
A recent investigation by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) identified at least 133 people involved in smuggling in six districts in the region, including Dinajpur.
The report names Parbatipur GRP police station Officer-in-Charge (OC) AKM Lutfar Rahman, its sub-inspectors Md Niamul and Abdul Hannan, assistant sub-inspectors Md Delwar, Md Belal, Md Delwar and 26 constables as being involved in smuggling.
The report names Santahar GRP police station OC Md Sayeed Iqbal, its constable Md Liakat Hossain, GRP Outpost member from Bogra Bimol Chandra, GRP Outpost member from Nilphamari Habilder Nenu Mandol and ASI Babul Sheikh.
It was learnt that these officials were active in smuggling operations in six districts at various border points including Birampur, Fulbari, Santahar and Hili.
In many places, the international boundary fence is nothing more than a handful of posts with a few lengths of barbed wire strung between them.
The openings allow all manner of traffic to pass through — farmers working the no man’s land between the two countries, refugees moving into India and contraband goods that are in demand in Bangladesh.
What law enforcement officials say
When approached, Tanzilur Rahman, superintendent of Railway Police (Sayedpur zone), told the Dhaka Tribune that border areas are vulnerable to smuggling but officials have been instructed to be vigilant. “Our officials continuously try to control smuggling and we have recoveries and arrests almost everyday.”
Asked about the alleged involvement of his officials in smuggling, the Railway Police superintendent said police officials are not perfect.
He said action is taken against officials found guilty of committing crimes. “Last year we took action against 13 railway staff for neglecting their duties.”
Lt Col Akther Iqbal, a commander of Border Guard Bangladesh (Dinajpur zone), told the Dhaka Tribune that his force was working to stop smuggling and had recovered large amounts of smuggled goods, including contraband drugs.
Asked about a rise in the number of female drug carriers, Lt Col Akther confirmed that this was a growing trend among smugglers. He said female police were being used to check suspicious female travellers.
Asked about the involvement of law enforcement and railway officials, he said BGB has limited investigation powers and that arrestees are handed over to the local police.
Although Lt Col Akther declined to comment on the extent of the smuggling problem, another high official of the BGB working in the district told the Dhaka Tribune, on condition of anonymity, that the smuggling system in Dinajpur involved virtually everyone, including the railway police, local political leaders and local businesses.
But BGB the official pointed the finger of blame primarily at railway staff, without whom the network could not operate.
