India, Dec. 1 -- Kolkata

It was October 22. A sleepy village in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district went about its day as usual. Farmers toiled in the fields, women queued at the village tube well for drinking water, and children enjoyed the last few days of the puja vacation.

Hakimpur's Daharkanda, a remote border village, remained calm, but the Border Security Force's (BSF) 143 battalion stationed there was on high alert following intelligence about a possible gold smuggling attempt - involving a child.

"Around 10.30 am, we saw a boy suspiciously moving towards the border. He was wearing black half-pants and a dark pink T-shirt. Our men immediately chased the boy and caught him. At least 11 gold biscuits, kept in a black polythe...