CBI initiates probe into alleged tampering of BSF records to falsely implicate two constables in smuggling case

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a First Information Report (FIR) against unknown Border Security Force (BSF) officers and others to probe allegations of record tampering that falsely implicated two constables of the paramilitary force in a 2008 smuggling case.

The agency filed the FIR following the directions of the Delhi High Court, which heard the petitions moved by the BSF constables, B. Venkataswamy and Tarsem Singh.

The petitioners submitted that they were on operational duty at the Dayarampur border post in West Bengal when they seized 75 bottles of Phensedyl cough syrup from a fleeing suspect on December 26, 2008, and reported it to their superior officers.

They alleged that certain superior officers, instead of taking appropriate legal action, falsely implicated them by tampering with official records to fabricate evidence, and the constables were accused of concealing and smuggling the contraband.

Based on those reports, the petitioners were tried by a Summary Security Force Court, convicted under the BSF Act, and dismissed from service on May 5, 2009. Their appeal was rejected by the force’s Appellate Authority.

In its order dated September 8, 2025, the High Court had said there was “sufficient material to reach a prima facie conclusion” that an in-depth probe was required into the matter. It observed that discrepancies and surrounding circumstances raised justifiable doubts about record tampering, noting that two Roznamchas (daily diary ledgers) for the same day and incident were presented in different proceedings.