Three Bangladeshi smugglers were shot dead and four more smugglers reportedly suffered critical injuries after they engaged in a gun battle with jawans Border Security Force (BSF) at Pathariyadhar border under Madhupur police station of Sepahijala district on Friday midnight.
Sources said that on Saturday afternoon BSF had handed over the bodies of two suspected Bangladeshi smugglers who were killed in firing near the Zero Point along the India-Bangladesh border in Sepahijala district.
Sources said that at gate number 101, near Pathariyadhar school , just near the zero point of international border, suspected Indian smugglers dumped huge quantities of smuggled items at the barbed wire fencing. After the incident was noticed by patrolling BSF jawans, suspected Indian smugglers managed to escape from the spot with help of darkness.
Later, a group of BSF jawans laid an ambush at the point and waited for Bangladeshi smugglers, who were supposed to come to this point to receive the consignment of smuggled items.
According to the official, BSF personnel noticed a group of Bangladeshi smugglers allegedly attempting to smuggle fish fingerlings from the Indian side across the border. When BSF jawans challenged them, Bangladeshi smugglers attacked the BSF party with sharp weapons.
"When the smugglers continued their attempt, BSF personnel again warned them not to proceed. However, the smugglers allegedly began pelting stones and bricks at the troops. The jawans initially issued repeated warnings asking them to disperse, but when the situation became uncontrollable, the personnel fired a few rounds from their PAG (Pump Action Gun) in self-defence, injuring the few smugglers," said the official sources.
A senior police official on Saturday said that tension prevailed along the India-Bangladesh border in Sepahijala district after the two suspected Bangladeshi smugglers were killed in firing on Friday night.
Sources added that BSF managed to rescue two smugglers, identified as Nabir Hussain (40) and Md. Mursalin (22), who suffered bullet injuries in their head and chest. BSF shifted them to a local hospital, where a visiting doctor declared them dead.
While, sources said that during BSF’s retaliation fire, five more Bangladeshi smugglers had also suffered bullet injuries , who were admitted to Comilla district hospital of Bangladesh, where another smuggler succumbed due to his critical injuries and remaining four others are under treatment in that hospital.
Following post-mortem examinations, the bodies were kept in the hospital mortuary before the process for handing them over to Bangladesh authorities was initiated and in the Saturday afternoon after a high-level flag meeting among authorities of BSF and its counterpart Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), bodies of two smugglers were handed over to their relatives.
Meanwhile, allegations have surfaced regarding the existence of an organised smuggling network engaged in trafficking fish along the border areas.
Local sources alleged that the network operates under the leadership of a man identified as Suman from Miyapara in Sepahijala district.
The Sonamura, Kamalasagar and adjoining border areas of Sepahijala district have long been vulnerable to cross-border smuggling activities involving narcotics, clothes, fish, stolen motorcycles and other goods.
Tripura, which shares an 856-km-long border with Bangladesh and is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, remains highly vulnerable to cross-border infiltration, smuggling and other trans-border crimes.
Except for a few stretches, most parts of the India-Bangladesh border in Tripura have been fenced to curb smuggling, illegal movement of infiltrators and activities of anti-national elements.
A BSF official said the border guarding force has significantly intensified surveillance and domination along the International Border since violence erupted in Bangladesh during June-July 2024, particularly after the fall of the former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government on August 5.