A smuggling attempt across the Indo-Bangladesh international border was successfully thwarted in Tripura’s Sepahijala district on Sunday, thanks to the vigilance and swift action of BSF Mahila Praharis.
According to a BSF official, the incident occurred in the Rahimpur area of the Ashabari border outpost. The Mahila Praharis recovered a large quantity of sugar and other contraband items from smugglers armed with sharp-edged weapons.
The official stated, “Alert BSF Mahila Praharis fired two rounds from lethal weapons around 6:45 am under compelling circumstances, when a large group of smugglers, armed with sharp-edged weapons, attempted to smuggle contraband.”
Mahila Praharis, first inducted into the BSF in 2009, serve in various roles, both as officials and in constabulary positions. They undergo extensive training, including drills, self-defense techniques, and proficiency in using automatic and semi-automatic weapons. Deployed along India’s international borders in areas such as Jammu, Punjab, Rajasthan, West Bengal, and Tripura, Mahila Praharis play a key role in border security.
The BSF says it uses non-lethal weapons and rubber bullets along the Tripura-Bangladesh border to reduce fatalities and curb crimes, adding that its personnel resort to lethal weapons only under dire circumstances, such as severe attacks from cross-border smugglers or criminals.
BSF personnel have faced multiple assaults and attempts to seize their weapons from border criminals, many of whom are believed to be from Bangladesh.
Parts of Tripura’s 856-km-long border with Bangladesh remain unfenced owing to local disputes over land and demarcation-related issues.
