The following day two suspected smugglers suspected to be staying near the border areas were arrested from South Tripura district. Two Bangladeshi nationals were killed and one injured in an encounter near the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura on Thursday while allegedly attempting to smuggle goods, including Viagra tablets worth ₹14–15 lakh, into South Tripura district, police said.
The following day two suspected smugglers were arrested from South Tripura district. “The two Indian smugglers are suspected to be staying near the border areas. A case was lodged at the Belonia police station,” a senior police officer said.
Police said that a group from Bangladesh, with the help of Indians, tried to cross the international border on Thursday night. “Even after the Border Security Force (BSF) warned them, they allegedly attacked the personnel with sharp weapons, injuring a BSF member. The BSF opened fire in self-defence,” a senior police officer said.
“Litan Miah died on the spot, while two others injured were admitted to a hospital in Bangladesh where one died during treatment,” the officer said, adding that Miah’s body, recovered from Indian territory, was handed over to Bangladesh after postmortem.
An FIR was registered under The Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, Passport (Entry into India) Act, and attempt to murder under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha, in May, had said that no illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or Rohingyas from Myanmar or any other country would be allowed to enter the state under any condition, and if they infiltrate Indian territory, they would be pushed back as per the law.
Tripura shares an 856-kilometre border with Bangladesh, second only to West Bengal. While most parts of the border in Tripura have been covered by barbed wire fencing, some stretches remain unfenced due to local disputes.
According to a police report, foreign nationals often cross into districts like Sepahijala, West, South, Unakoti, and Dhalai. They often use Tripura as a corridor to move to different parts of the country in search of jobs, shelter, and a place to settle.
