Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, Tripura Police apprehended two youths from Bihar in possession of a sophisticated revolver in Dharmanagar, a commercial town in northern Tripura near the Assam border, officials confirmed on Saturday.
Acting on a tip-off, a police team raided a hotel on Friday night and arrested the accused—Niraj Kumar (20) and Indal Mukhia (35). During preliminary questioning, the duo confessed to traveling to Tripura with the intent of selling the firearm.
“Further investigation is underway to uncover the details of their involvement in arms trading,” a police official stated.
This incident occurred just four days after Tripura Police nabbed a Bangladeshi national, Samajpriya Chakma, from Milanchakra Adarshapalli near Agartala. Chakma, a resident of Khagrachari in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts, was found with a loaded 9 mm pistol, ammunition, Rs 2.21 lakh in Indian currency, 25,000 Bangladeshi Taka, and two smartphones.
With Republic Day approaching, security measures have been intensified along the India-Bangladesh border and at sensitive locations across the state. The Border Security Force (BSF) and other agencies are on high alert to prevent infiltration and smuggling activities.
A BSF spokesperson stated that the unrest in Bangladesh last year prompted enhanced security along the 856-km border shared with Tripura. In 2024, BSF operations resulted in the arrest of 55 Rohingyas, 620 Bangladeshi nationals, and 260 Indian human traffickers involved in various illegal activities.
