Alert along Tripura-Mizoram-B’desh border after reports of cross-border movement of militants

Security forces including the Border Security Force (BSF) are on a high alert after reports of movement of militants from Bangladesh along the Tripura and Mizoram borders, officials said on Friday.

Tripura has a 856 km and Mizoram a 318 km-long border with Bangladesh.

Of Tripura’s 856 km International Border, about 26.64 kms are yet to be fenced while the entire Mizoram frontiers are unfenced.

A senior police official said that there are reports of movement of militants along the contiguous Tripura-Mizoram-Bangladesh porous border leading to high alert by the security forces including the BSF posted in the mountainous regions.

“After the reports of possible movement of militants, Inspector General of Police (Intelligence) Krishnendu Chakraborty recently visited Unakoti and North Tripura districts and held a series of meetings with the security forces posted in the areas,” the official told IANS.

Both the BSF and the state police officials separately said that after the unrest began in Bangladesh in July and the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5, vigil along the India-Bangladesh border was heightened to prevent any kind of cross-border movement of infiltrators, militants and smugglers.

Reports said that though in September last year, a large number of militants, mostly from Bangladesh, surrendered to the Tripura government, there are some northeast India-based extremists still hiding in Bangladesh.

On September 24, altogether 584 extremists of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) outfits surrendered and deposited a large cache of arms and ammunition before the Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha at a surrender ceremony at the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) seventh battalion headquarters in Sepahijala district.

The militants surrendered to the Tripura government after the signing of the peace agreement with the Centre and Tripura government in Delhi on September 4 in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Tripura Chief Minister, other political leaders and officials of the MHA and Tripura government.

A BSF spokesman said that their troops along the borders are also using various devices and dogs to make their vigil effective while the senior BSF officials often visit the border to closely monitor the vigilance.

Meanwhile, former Tripura Chief Minister and incumbent Lok Sabha member Biplab Kumar Deb recently urged Amit Shah to complete the India-Bangladesh fencing in the remaining patches and tighten vigil along the frontier in view of the prevailing situation in the neighbouring country.

Deb, a member of the Consultative Committee for the Ministry of Home Affairs, in his letter to Shah said that though proactive steps being taken by the Central government have prevented infiltration, it appears that the strength of the BSF needs to be augmented for better security of the borders and to prevent any kind of adverse impact of the Bangladesh situation on Tripura.

He had told Amit Shah: “Now with the disturbed law and order situation in Bangladesh, there is a possibility of vested interests taking advantage of the porous border.”