Bangladeshi arrested in Agartala with gun, smart phones, currencies of 2 nations

Amid the high security alert ahead of Republic Day celebrations in India, Tripura Police arrested a Bangladeshi national with arms and Indian and Bangladeshi currencies, officials said here on Wednesday.

Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO), Sadar, Deba Prasad Roy said that acting on specific Intelligence, a police team conducted a raid at a house in the Milanchakra Adarshapalli area on Tuesday night.

The house owner had reportedly used his home as a hideout for the accused and the Bangladeshi national had been staying in the rented house for around five months.

The arrested Bangladeshi man has been identified as Samajpriya Chakma, a resident of Khagrachari district in Chittagong Hill Tracts, southeastern region of the neighbouring country.

SDPO Roy said that the police recovered a loaded 9 mm pistol, some cartridges, 25,000 Bangladeshi Taka, Rs 2.21 lakh Indian currency along with two smart phones from his possession.

He said, “Preliminary interrogation and documents recovered from him confirmed that arrested Samajpriya Chakma is a Bangladeshi citizen. An FIR has been registered under the Arms Act and various other provisions of the law. Further interrogation is underway to uncover more details about his activities.”

The incident highlights the ongoing challenges of infiltration and arms smuggling along the India-Bangladesh border with Tripura.

A Border Security Force (BSF) spokesman said that after the Bangladesh unrest began last year, the BSF has intensified its domination and operations along the 856-km India-Bangladesh border in Tripura to prevent infiltration, exfiltration, and trans-border crimes including smuggling of contraband.

The BSF spokesman said that ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, security along the India-Bangladesh border has been further stepped up to prevent any kind of cross-border crimes.

Tripura is surrounded by Bangladesh on three sides, parts of which are still unfenced in patches due to local disputes on land and demarcation-related issues.

The BSF alone last year arrested 55 Rohingyas, 620 Bangladeshi nationals and 260 Indian nationals including human traffickers in various operations.