Agartala: The total number of people so far arrested in connection with the brutal attack on Border Security Force (BSF) personnel in Tripura’s Sepahijala district has risen to 18, including three women, following the arrest of eight more accused, police officials said on Friday.
A senior police official said the fresh eight arrests were made from different parts of Sepahijala district on Thursday night and early Friday morning in connection with the November 2 incident at Ashabari village, under Kalamchaura police station, along the India-Bangladesh international border.
“An intensive search operation, launched immediately after the attack on BSF personnel on November 2, was still underway to apprehend the remaining accused,” the official told IANS.
All the 18 accused have been booked under various sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
The eight newly arrested persons would be produced before a local court in Sepahijala district at the earliest, the official said.
The first 10 accused arrested in the case were earlier produced before a court. Following the court’s orders, the male accused were remanded to police custody, while the women were sent to judicial custody.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manik Saha, who had strongly condemned the attack and directed the authorities to take stringent action against those involved, chaired a high-level meeting with senior security officials on Thursday night to review the incident and the overall law and order situation.
In a post on X, CM Saha said he chaired the meeting at the TIFT Conference Hall in Agartala in the presence of senior officials from the state administration, police, BSF, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Assam Rifles.
He said the Ashabari incident was also reviewed, and the authorities were directed to ensure strict legal action against those involved, adopt zero tolerance towards cross-border smuggling and strengthen security measures to maintain peace and law and order.
According to police, the incident occurred on November 2 when BSF personnel intercepted a group of alleged smugglers attempting to smuggle ganja (cannabis) across the India-Bangladesh border. Subsequently, the BSF personnel were reportedly surrounded and attacked by a mob of around 50 men and women, leaving three personnel, including a Company Commander, grievously injured.
The attackers also allegedly snatched a pump-action gun (PAG) from one of the BSF personnel and damaged a BSF vehicle. One of the alleged attackers was also injured in the incident.
There have been several instances of attacks on BSF and other security personnel by suspected cross-border smugglers in Tripura. On October 16, 2017, a vehicle allegedly driven by smugglers ran over Deepak Kumar Mandal, Deputy Commandant of the BSF’s 145th Battalion, 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 another incident, Tripura Police Sub-Inspector Durga Kumar Hrangkhawl was killed on duty on November 21, 2019, after a vehicle allegedly operated by cross-border smuggling mafias deliberately ran him over in the same district.
These incidents underline the serious risks faced by security and law-enforcement personnel while 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.
The state’s geographical location makes it particularly vulnerable to cross-border smuggling, illegal movement and other transnational crimes.
Except for a few stretches, most parts of the international border have been fenced to prevent smuggling, illegal crossings and the movement of criminal and other inimical elements.
(IANS)
