Agartala, Nov 8 (PTI) Intensified anti-smuggling operations by security forces along the India-Bangladesh border were the main reason behind the recent attack on a BSF team in Tripura’s Ashabari area, a senior police officer said on Sunday.
Sepahijala SP Bijoy Debbarma told PTI that joint teams of police, Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and the BSF have destroyed at least 1.5 crore ganja plants in the district’s Sonamura subdivision over the past year, causing an estimated loss of Rs 1,000 crore to illegal operators.
They have also seized smuggled goods worth several crores of rupees during the period, he said.
“The security agencies have intensified anti-smuggling operations in the border areas, which has angered people involved in the illegal trade,” he added.
Debbarma said BSF personnel intercepted an alleged smuggling attempt along the international border at Ashabari on November 2, triggering an attack on the force in which three personnel, including an assistant commandant, were injured.
He attributed the assault to the losses suffered by smuggling syndicates following the intensified crackdown.
Police have arrested 21 people, including two key suspects, for their alleged involvement in the attack, and a detailed investigation is underway, the SP said.
Sepahijala district shares around 99 km of boundary with Bangladesh, and nearly 99 per cent is fenced, he said.
Despite the fencing, smugglers continue to use different methods to transport cattle, clothes, medicines, essential commodities and contraband across the border, he added.
Debbarma said around 300 families still live outside the barbed-wire fencing along the international boundary, giving smugglers an opportunity to operate.
Under the India-Bangladesh agreement, permanent structures cannot be built within 150 yards of the zero line, leaving these families outside the fenced area, he said. PTI PS SOM
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