Tripura Police and the Border Security Force (BSF) have intensified their crackdown following the violent attack on BSF personnel along the India-Bangladesh border in Sepahijala district, arresting two key accused in the attacks on BSF personnel and rifle-snatching case and carrying out a major anti-smuggling operation in the Ashabari-Rahimpur border belt of Boxanagar.
With the latest arrests, the total number of persons apprehended in connection with the November 2 incident has risen to 21, including four women. Police said intensive search operations are continuing to trace the remaining accused using electronic evidence, CCTV footage and intelligence inputs.
The two key accused, Rabiul Hossain and Mahabul Hossain, were detained by the BSF on Saturday and later handed over to Kalamchowra police station. According to investigators, video footage shows Rabiul snatching a Border Security Force jawan's service rifle during the attack, while Mahabul was seen assaulting BSF personnel with a stick.
Police had earlier arrested Hasina Khatun, the mother of Rabiul Hossain, for her role in the incident. Police said that she attacked a BSF jawan with a stick during the rifle-snatching episode, causing a serious head injury. She was produced before the Sonamura court on Saturday and remanded to seven days of police custody.
Seven of the ten persons initially arrested in the case were also produced before the Sonamura court on Saturday, which remanded the seven male accused to another seven days of police custody. The three women arrested earlier remain in judicial custody and are scheduled to be produced before the court again on November 13.
Police said Rabiul Hossain and Mahabul Hossain, arrested on Saturday, will be produced before the court on Sunday.
Public Prosecutor of Sepahijala district court, Gautam Giri said all 19 accused who have already been produced before the court will again be presented on November 13. Given the sensitivity of the case, Public Prosecutor of High Court of Tripura, Raju Dutta also appeared before the Sonamura court and conducted the proceedings along with Giri.
Officials said five of those arrested were not named in the original complaint lodged by the BSF but were identified during the course of the investigation and interrogation of other accused.
The accused have been booked under various provisions of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, and the Prevention of Damage to Public Property Act, 1984.
Meanwhile, in a major anti-smuggling operation linked to the ongoing investigation, a joint team of the BSF, Customs and Tripura Police raided Rahimpur Bazar (Market), adjoining Ashabari, and seized a large quantity of illegally stored fireworks and biscuits.
The operation was carried out in the presence of Executive Magistrate Suraj Debbarma, DJM of the Sonamura Sub-Divisional Magistrate's Office. As the shop owners were absent, the joint team broke open the shutters of eight locked shops and recovered the goods.
Official sources said that these shops had been used as storage points for fireworks, sugar, contraband and narcotic substances before being smuggled across the Ashabari-Rahimpur border into Bangladesh. Acting on specific intelligence inputs, the day-long operation brought commercial activity in Rahimpur Bazar to a virtual standstill.
Suraj Debbarma said the shops were opened after breaking the locks in the presence of the magistrate, and the seized fireworks were shifted to a BSF Border Outpost (BOP) for further legal action. The operation was attended by the Commanding Officer of the BSF's 49 Battalion and the Customs Superintendent of Sonamura.
Senior police officers, including Sepahijala Superintendent of Police (SP) Bijoy Debbarma and Additional Superintendent of Police D. Kudiyarasu, remained stationed at Kalamchowra police station throughout the day to supervise the investigation.
Police and BSF personnel are also conducting searches at suspected houses and commercial establishments to recover contraband and illegally stored goods. Officials asserted that no person involved in the attack would be spared.
Meanwhile, a video circulating from Bangladesh showed members of the neighbouring country's border guarding force using loudspeakers to advise residents living near the international border not to approach the zero line.
Earlier, Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha has strongly condemned the incident and directed authorities to take stringent action. He has also held a series of meetings with senior security officials to review the law and order situation and monitor the progress of the investigation.
Investigators said the Ashabari-Rahimpur belt has long been regarded as one of the major cross-border smuggling corridors in Sonamura subdivision. Authorities have intensified enforcement measures in the area, including verification of land ownership documents and raids on suspected storage facilities. Officials indicated that further action, including eviction drives against families allegedly occupying government land illegally, may also be undertaken as part of the ongoing crackdown.
The November 2 violence erupted after BSF personnel intercepted a group of alleged smugglers attempting to transport cannabis across the India-Bangladesh border. The security personnel were subsequently surrounded and attacked by a mob of around 50 men and women, leaving three BSF personnel, including a Company Commander, seriously injured. During the assault, the attackers allegedly snatched a pump-action gun from a BSF jawan and damaged a BSF vehicle.
Tripura, which shares an 856-km international border with Bangladesh, continues to face challenges related to cross-border smuggling, illegal infiltration and other transnational criminal activities despite extensive border fencing.