BY TC News Desk
Agartala, September 02, 2023: A clash broke out between the Tripura and Assam police on Saturday over a smuggling incident that took place on the Tripura-Assam border. A mob of villagers from Tripura attacked the Assam police, who had entered the border to arrest a suspected smuggler. Two Assam police officers were injured in the attack, and traffic was blocked on the alternate national highway NH 208.
The incident was triggered by a vehicle loaded with logs that entered Tripura illegally from Assam on Friday night. The vehicle was allegedly taken away by a mafia group from Tripura, who threatened the Tripura police. The vehicle was carrying drugs and other illegal goods, according to sources. The gate on the road was closed after nine o’clock at night, and no passenger vehicles were allowed to ply.
The people of Assam’s border area, who were suspicious of how the vehicle crossed the border, gathered at the Jherjheri check post on Saturday morning. They were confronted by Badrul Haque, another mafia leader from Tripura, who had an argument with them. Badrul Haque also assaulted Kamrul Pasha Chowdhury, a lawyer from Assam’s border area, who had exposed the smuggling of cement in the media.
The Assam police arrived at the Jherjheri check post to arrest Badrul Haque, but he fled to his house in Tripura. The Assam police followed him and tried to nab him, but they were attacked by the villagers from Tripura. The villagers beat them with shoes and threw bricks at them. The local people of Tripura accused the Assam police of trying to arrest Badrul Haque illegally without informing the Tripura police.
The people of Assam’s border area surrounded the Jherjheri check post and blocked the traffic on the road. The police of both states failed to bring the situation under control. There was tension and hostility between the youths of the two states, who were eyeing each other on the border. The locals demanded the immediate deployment of additional paramilitary forces along the border of the two states.
