Images of 2 suspected Bangladeshi smugglers shot dead in Tripura
Credit: X@humhaitokiyagumhai
Agartala: Two suspected Bangladeshi smugglers were shot dead by the BSF at the international border in South Tripura, officials said on Saturday.
Another Bangladeshi was injured in the firing, while two Indian smugglers were arrested, they said.
The incident happened at Amzadnagar in the early hours of Friday, they added.
"BSF personnel were keeping a close vigil on the border when they spotted a major smuggling attempt. As they tried to intercept, the smugglers got violent. In self-defence, the security personnel opened fire," a senior officer of the border-guarding force said.
"Three smugglers received gunshot wounds and fell to the ground. While one of them died on the spot, two others were taken back to Bangladesh by their companions," he said.
They were taken to the Parshuram Upazila health centre in Bangladesh, where one of them died. The other person is undergoing treatment there, he added.
A medicine consignment worth Rs 15 lakh was recovered from the site, the BSF officer said.
"The body of the Bangladeshi smuggler, who died on the spot, was handed over to the authorities of the neighbouring country in the presence of BGB officers on Friday," he said.
"A commandant-level flag meeting was also held, and BGB officers expressed concern over the firing. But we made our position clear that smuggling will not be tolerated along the India-Bangladesh border. Besides, the BSF was compelled to fire in self-defence as the smugglers became violent," the officer said.
Assistant Inspector General (Law and Order) of the Tripura Police, Ranadhir Debbarma, told PTI that two Indian smugglers were arrested in connection with the smuggling attempt.