AGARTALA: Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended 108 individuals in July, including 77 foreign nationals, 23 Indians, and eight touts in Tripura, officials informed on Thursday (August 01).
Among the foreign nationals, 71 were Bangladeshis and the rest were Rohingyas.
BSF officials reported that during July, 56 incidents of firing from non-lethal weapons took place at the border, resulting in over 70 rounds being fired to deter infiltration and trans-border criminal activities, which led to six injuries.
In addition to the apprehensions, contraband items worth over Rs.4 crore were seized in joint operations.
The seized items included 12,692 Yaba tablets, 360 kilograms of cannabis, 84.6 kilograms of sugar, 5,669 bottles of codeine-based syrup, and 180 cattle.
The BSF also destroyed 76,000 ganja plants in collaboration with the Forest Department.
To combat trans-border crimes and infiltration, the BSF has bolstered its presence along the borders, especially in areas prone to smuggling and infiltration.
The force has deployed drones and advanced hand-held thermal imaging and surveillance equipment.
Inspector General of Police, BSF Tripura, Patel Piyush Purushottam Das, urged field commanders to coordinate with Tripura Police, Tripura State Rifles, Government Railway Police, Railway Protection Force, Customs, Reserve Inspectors, the Forest Department, and other agencies to effectively carry out operations against illegal infiltrators and smugglers.
In light of ongoing violence in Bangladesh, the BSF is closely monitoring the situation and maintaining coordination with the Border Guards of Bangladesh (BGB).
Last month, four commandant-level flag meetings and 150 company commander/BOP level meetings were held with BGB, in addition to an IG BSF-region commander-level conference.
The BSF and BGB have jointly conducted over 100 special coordinated patrols in vulnerable areas throughout July.
Furthermore, the BSF has facilitated the safe return of over 900 Indian students from Bangladesh amid the ongoing turmoil.