Agartala, Nov 4 : Tripura Police have alerted the Border Security Force (BSF) to maintain heightened vigilance along the international border to prevent the nine remaining accused, allegedly involved in a brutal attack on BSF personnel that left two jawans and an officer critically injured, from fleeing to neighbouring Bangladesh, officials said on Wednesday.
A senior Tripura Police official said that the FIR lodged by the BSF named 19 attackers, of whom 10, including three women, have been arrested so far.
“An intensive search operation, launched immediately after the attack on BSF personnel on Monday night, was still underway to apprehend the remaining nine accused. The accused might cross the international border and take shelter in adjoining Bangladesh to evade arrest. We have also alerted the BSF to keep a close watch and prevent any unauthorised cross-border movement,” the senior official told IANS.
Inspector General of BSF, Tripura Frontier, Princee Rani, and Sepahijala District Superintendent of Police Bijoy Debbarma, along with other BSF and police officials, visited the Ashabari area along the India-Bangladesh international border in Tripura’s Sepahijala district on Tuesday.
“The BSF IG has asked the troops to follow border-guarding protocols with extra vigilance. She also held a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and briefed him about Monday’s incident,” the official said.
According to the official, on Monday, BSF personnel noticed some Indian and Bangladeshi smugglers allegedly engaged in the illegal cross-border trade of ganja (marijuana) along the international border. The jawans immediately rushed to the spot and apprehended an Indian smuggler. However, the Bangladeshi smugglers, who were on the other side of the border fence, fled.
An Indian smuggler also managed to escape and allegedly informed villagers that he had been assaulted by BSF personnel, the official said.
Following this, around 50 men and women gathered at the spot, surrounded the BSF vehicle and attacked the personnel, leaving three of them, including the Company Commander, grievously injured. The injured BSF personnel were subsequently taken to a government hospital for treatment.
The attackers also allegedly snatched a Pump Action Gun (PAG) from one of the BSF jawans and damaged a BSF vehicle. One of the attackers was also injured in the incident.
However, tension continued to prevail in the area on Wednesday. The BSF, Tripura State Rifles and police jointly conducted a foot march as part of an area-domination exercise to maintain law and order.
A BSF statement said that the force remained resolute in its commitment to safeguarding the India-Bangladesh border and preventing trans-border smuggling and other unlawful activities.
“The BSF expects the local population to extend wholehearted cooperation in maintaining peace, public order and security in the border areas. Any attempt to intimidate or obstruct BSF personnel in the discharge of their lawful duties will be dealt with firmly,” the central armed police force said.
The statement further said, “Such acts of violence and intimidation will not deter the BSF from performing its mandated responsibilities. Despite being subjected to assault, BSF personnel exercised exemplary restraint and refrained from resorting to lethal force, demonstrating their commitment to protecting human life while continuing to discharge their operational duties professionally.”
There have been several previous attacks on the BSF and other security personnel by cross-border smugglers in Tripura. A vehicle driven by smugglers ran over Deepak Kumar Mandal, Deputy Commandant of the 145th Battalion of the BSF, on October 16, 2017, at Balerdepha in the smuggling-prone Sonamura subdivision of Sepahijala district. Mandal, a resident of West Bengal, succumbed to his injuries on October 20, 2017.
In a similar incident, Sub-Inspector Durga Kumar Hrangkhawl of the Tripura Police was killed on duty on November 21, 2019, after being deliberately run over by a vehicle allegedly operated by cross-border smuggling mafias in the same district.
Both incidents highlight the grave risks faced by security and law-enforcement personnel in tackling organised cross-border smuggling activities in the district.
Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, and is surrounded by the neighbouring country on three sides, making the Northeastern state particularly vulnerable and sensitive to issues relating to cross-border migration, illegal trades and transnational crimes. Except for a few stretches, most parts of the international frontier have been fenced to prevent smuggling, trans-border crimes, illegal cross-border movements by infiltrators and the entry of inimical elements.
A senior Tripura Police official said that the FIR lodged by the BSF named 19 attackers, of whom 10, including three women, have been arrested so far.
“An intensive search operation, launched immediately after the attack on BSF personnel on Monday night, was still underway to apprehend the remaining nine accused. The accused might cross the international border and take shelter in adjoining Bangladesh to evade arrest. We have also alerted the BSF to keep a close watch and prevent any unauthorised cross-border movement,” the senior official told IANS.
Inspector General of BSF, Tripura Frontier, Princee Rani, and Sepahijala District Superintendent of Police Bijoy Debbarma, along with other BSF and police officials, visited the Ashabari area along the India-Bangladesh international border in Tripura’s Sepahijala district on Tuesday.
“The BSF IG has asked the troops to follow border-guarding protocols with extra vigilance. She also held a meeting with Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha and briefed him about Monday’s incident,” the official said.
According to the official, on Monday, BSF personnel noticed some Indian and Bangladeshi smugglers allegedly engaged in the illegal cross-border trade of ganja (marijuana) along the international border. The jawans immediately rushed to the spot and apprehended an Indian smuggler. However, the Bangladeshi smugglers, who were on the other side of the border fence, fled.
An Indian smuggler also managed to escape and allegedly informed villagers that he had been assaulted by BSF personnel, the official said.
Following this, around 50 men and women gathered at the spot, surrounded the BSF vehicle and attacked the personnel, leaving three of them, including the Company Commander, grievously injured. The injured BSF personnel were subsequently taken to a government hospital for treatment.
The attackers also allegedly snatched a Pump Action Gun (PAG) from one of the BSF jawans and damaged a BSF vehicle. One of the attackers was also injured in the incident.
However, tension continued to prevail in the area on Wednesday. The BSF, Tripura State Rifles and police jointly conducted a foot march as part of an area-domination exercise to maintain law and order.
A BSF statement said that the force remained resolute in its commitment to safeguarding the India-Bangladesh border and preventing trans-border smuggling and other unlawful activities.
“The BSF expects the local population to extend wholehearted cooperation in maintaining peace, public order and security in the border areas. Any attempt to intimidate or obstruct BSF personnel in the discharge of their lawful duties will be dealt with firmly,” the central armed police force said.
The statement further said, “Such acts of violence and intimidation will not deter the BSF from performing its mandated responsibilities. Despite being subjected to assault, BSF personnel exercised exemplary restraint and refrained from resorting to lethal force, demonstrating their commitment to protecting human life while continuing to discharge their operational duties professionally.”
There have been several previous attacks on the BSF and other security personnel by cross-border smugglers in Tripura. A vehicle driven by smugglers ran over Deepak Kumar Mandal, Deputy Commandant of the 145th Battalion of the BSF, on October 16, 2017, at Balerdepha in the smuggling-prone Sonamura subdivision of Sepahijala district. Mandal, a resident of West Bengal, succumbed to his injuries on October 20, 2017.
In a similar incident, Sub-Inspector Durga Kumar Hrangkhawl of the Tripura Police was killed on duty on November 21, 2019, after being deliberately run over by a vehicle allegedly operated by cross-border smuggling mafias in the same district.
Both incidents highlight the grave risks faced by security and law-enforcement personnel in tackling organised cross-border smuggling activities in the district.
Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with Bangladesh, and is surrounded by the neighbouring country on three sides, making the Northeastern state particularly vulnerable and sensitive to issues relating to cross-border migration, illegal trades and transnational crimes. Except for a few stretches, most parts of the international frontier have been fenced to prevent smuggling, trans-border crimes, illegal cross-border movements by infiltrators and the entry of inimical elements.
