BSF jawan loses hand in Bangaldeshi smugglers bomb attack in West Bengal
Kolkata: A BSF jawan lost his hand and sustained grievous injuries after Bangladeshi cattle smugglers attacked him with bombs in the early hours of Thursday along the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, the force said.
Constable Anisur Rehman also suffered pellet injuries to his lungs, liver and stomach from the impact of at least two country-made bombs lobbed at him near the Angrail border post in the North 24 Parganas district at about 3:30 am.
In the wake of the incident, the Border Security Force (BSF) issued an alert along the India-Bangladesh border in the south Bengal area as it registered a "strong protest" with their counterparts, the Border Guards Bangaldesh (BGB) to rein in the criminals on their side.
The jawan on border duty was attacked by a group of about 25 Bangaldeshi smugglers who entered 200 metres into the Indian side in order to smuggle cattle into their country with the assistance of locals here, the force said.
The smugglers were armed with bombs, dahs (cleaver-shaped weapon), axes, bamboo sticks among others, it said.
They encircled the jawan and hurled two country-made bombs on him. He was evacuated to the government hospital in Bangaon where his right hand was amputated.
"The jawan has suffered grievous injuries and he fired a round from his pump action gun in self defence before he fell unconscious. Reinforcement troops controlled the situation.
"The smugglers escaped to the other side as it was pitch dark and the area is marked with heavy vegetation and tall grass growth," a senior official said.
A smuggler is also suspected to have been injured in the firing by the jawan, he said.
The BSF has directed all its formations in the south Bengal frontier area "to adopt an aggressive posture against trans-border criminals and thwart their sinister designs. Such incidents of attacks on BSF troops are taking place quite often," the force said.
On Wednesday, the border guarding force had repulsed an attack by about 200 Bangladeshi cattle smugglers and seized 107 buffaloes along the Indo-Bangla border in Murshidabad district of the state.
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
