Premium

Bangladeshi man with firearms, cash arrested in Tripura ahead of Republic Day celebrations

Tripura has tightened vigil following a series of arrests of Bangladeshi and Rohingya people from different parts of the state.

tripura clash, BJP, TIPRA Motha, indian express

The police have recovered a factory-made 9 mm pistol, 3 rounds of live bullets, two android mobile phones, Indian currency worth Rs 2.21 lakh and 25,000 Bangladeshi Taka from his possession. (Representational Photo/ Express Archives)

As part of heightened vigil ahead of Republic Day celebrations, the Tripura Police on Tuesday arrested a Bangladeshi national who was in possession of illegal firearms, ammunition, and Indian and Bengali currency notes from Agartala city.

The person identified as Samajpriya Chakma, was nabbed from a hideout in Milanchakra area during a surprise raid, the police said.

Chakma has been booked under Passport Act and Indian Arms Act and would be produced before a local court ín Agartala on Wednesday, they said.

“We received a tip-off last evening about a Bangladeshi national living in the area and the possibility of him being armed with firearms. We arrested him from the house of one Nilkanta Deb, which he was using as a hideout,” said Debaprasad Roy, Sadar Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO).

The police have recovered a factory-made 9 mm pistol, 3 rounds of live bullets, two android mobile phones, Indian currency worth Rs 2.21 lakh and 25,000 Bangladeshi Taka from his possession.

According to preliminary investigation, Samajpriya had identified himself as an Indian national while renting his living quarters almost 4-5 months back.

The police said they are yet to know about his affiliations, associates or his intentions of being on the Indian territory with illegal firearms.

Story continues below this ad

“We have not found any associates with him while arresting him. But we are investigating all angles to find out if he was alone, or had accomplices, why he was here and how he came to India. We didn’t find any passport on him,” the SDPO said.

Tripura, which shares 856 km of international border with Bangladesh, has tightened vigil following a series of arrests of Bangladeshi and Rohingya people from different parts of the state.