Nine Held Including Three Women, 19 Named in FIR Over Brutal Mob Attack on BSF Personnel in Tripura's Boxanagar

Agartala, Nov 3: Police have arrested nine people, including three women, and identified 19 accused in the First Information Report (FIR) following Monday's violent attack on Border Security Force (BSF) personnel by suspected smugglers and locals at Ashabari village in Tripura's Sepahijala district.

Addressing a press briefing on Tuesday with the accused paraded behind him, Sepahijala Superintendent of Police Bijoy Debbarma said multiple police teams conducted overnight raids across the Kalamchoura police station area to nab those directly involved in the assault. The nine arrested accused- six men and three women- were produced before the court on Tuesday.

Detailing the sequence of events, SP Debbarma stated that the confrontation began around 8:55 am on Monday within the jurisdiction of the Ashabari Border Outpost (BOP) when on-duty BSF personnel spotted miscreants smuggling contraband across the international border fence. When the jawans challenged the smugglers, a scuffle broke out and the miscreants pelted stones at the patrolling party before fleeing the spot. BSF troops subsequently recovered packets of cannabis (ganja) from the site.

Shortly afterward, the smugglers fled into the village, reorganised with locals, and blocked the Ashabari–Rahimpur road near Natun Bazar—amid local allegations that a youth, Hefzur Rahman, had sustained a fractured leg after being detained by the BSF.

When the BSF Company Commander (Assistant Commandant) arrived from Rahimpur in a vehicle to assess the situation, the mob ambushed the vehicle. Armed with bamboo and sticks, the attackers brutally assaulted the Assistant Commandant, a constable, and the driver on their heads and stomachs, vandalised the vehicle, and snatched a service weapon at one point during the clash.

Reinforcements from the BSF and Kalamchoura police station rushed to the spot, rescued the critically injured personnel- identified as Company Commander Rohit, driver Sunil Kumar, and jawan Manjit-and shifted them to Tripura Medical College in Agartala.

"BSF personnel are deployed round the clock to guard our nation's borders. Such a brutal and shameful attack on them cannot be tolerated," SP Debbarma told reporters. "We have registered a case under stringent sections and identified 19 individuals in the FIR. Several other unknown persons seen in video footage of the attack are being identified. We are following a policy of zero tolerance, and every single culprit who took the law into their hands will be brought to justice."

Chief Minister Manik Saha also strongly condemned the assault on social media and directed the Home Department and senior police officials to take strict legal action, while the BSF Inspector General visited the area to review border security alongside district police.

Meanwhile, the incident triggered a sharp political reaction from Leader of the Opposition and CPI(M) State Secretary Jitendra Chaudhury. Condemning the assault on uniformed jawans who were "beaten like snakes," Chaudhury expressed solidarity with the BSF and blamed the state government for the recurring law-and-order breakdown in Sonamura and Kalamchoura. He alleged that 99 per cent of those involved in cross-border smuggling in the belt operate under the patronage of the ruling BJP, claiming that political phone calls from Agartala and local MLAs routinely shield ruling party workers from police action while ordinary border residents suffer.