Two suspected Bangladeshi smugglers were shot dead by Tripura Border Security Force (BSF) officials along the international border in South Tripura on July 26. The incident, which occurred at Amzadnagar in the early hours of Friday, also left another Bangladeshi injured in the firing, while two Indian smugglers were arrested.
According to a senior officer of the BSF, the security personnel had been monitoring the border closely when they noticed a significant smuggling attempt. When they tried to intervene, the smugglers became aggressive, prompting the security personnel to open fire in self-defence.
“Three smugglers were shot and fell to the ground. While one died on the spot, the other two were taken back to Bangladesh by their associates,” the officer said. The injured smugglers were then taken to the Parshuram Upazila health center in Bangladesh, where one of them succumbed to his injuries.
A medicine consignment worth Rs 15 lakh was recovered from the scene of the incident, the BSF officer added. The body of the deceased Bangladeshi smuggler was handed over to authorities in Bangladesh in the presence of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) officers.
Following the incident, a commandant-level flag meeting was held between BSF and BGB officers. During the meeting, BGB officers expressed concern over the firing, but the BSF reiterated that smuggling would not be tolerated along the India-Bangladesh border. The BSF maintained that they were forced to fire in self-defence as the smugglers had turned violent.
Assistant Inspector General (Law and Order) of the Tripura Police, Ranadhir Debbarma, confirmed that two Indian smugglers had been arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt. The incident highlights the ongoing challenges faced by border security forces in curbing smuggling activities along the international border.
