Amid Bangladeshi parties’ ‘long march’ security tightened along Tripura borders

Agartala (The Uttam Hindu): Amid Bangladeshi parties’ reported march towards Indian borders along Agartala, security along the frontiers with Tripura has been further tightened, officials said. West Tripura district Superintendent of Police, Kiran Kumar, said that due to various reasons, the security along the India-Bangladesh border has been further beefed up. “The two-day plenary session of the North Eastern Council (NEC) will be held in Agartala on December 20-21. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) Minister, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Governors and Chief Ministers of all eight northeastern states will attend the meet,” he told the media.

The NEC meet is one of the reasons for heightening security along the border, other sensitive and respective places, the SP said. Since the unrest began in Bangladesh a few months ago, the BSF has intensified its vigil along the entire frontiers, the district police chief said. Security presence has been visibly increased near the Agartala-Akhaura (Bangladesh) Integrated Check Post (ICP), the second-largest trading point along the India-Bangladesh border after Petrapole-Benapole ICP in West Bengal. Kumar said that he has learnt that Bangladeshi security forces have stopped the Indian border bound march of parties from their country. Bangladesh media reported that leaders and activists of three associate bodies of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Jubo Dal, Bangladesh Jatiotabadi Chatradal and Swecchasebak Dal, on Wednesday morning started a long march towards Agartala in India from Dhaka. According to the Bangladeshi media, the long march has been organised in protest against the December 2 incident in the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission (AHC) in Agartala, where alleged ‘desecration’ of the national flag of the neighbouring country was reported. After the breach of security at the Bangladesh AHC office in Agartala on December 2, the mission suspended all visa and consular services for an indefinite period from the next day. The breach of security at the Bangladesh AHC reportedly took place during a protest by an organisation against the atrocities on the Hindu community in Bangladesh. West Tripura District Superintendent of Police suspended three Sub-Inspectors -- Dilu Jamatia, Debabrata Sinha, and Joynal Hossain -- and Assistant Commandant (a DSP rank officer) Kanti Nath Ghosh was withdrawn from his posting due to their negligence of duty during the December 2 protests against the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh.

The Tripura government also ordered an enquiry into the December 2 incident and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG), Southern Range, will conduct the probe. In view of the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh and arrest of ISKCON preacher Chinmoy Krishna Das in Bangladesh, various organisations have been holding series of protests, demonstration and rallies in different states of the northeast region almost daily.