CORRESPONDENT
AGARTALA: A Bangladeshi youth died after Border Security Force (BSF) personnel opened fire to prevent a group of smugglers in the border areas of Latiapura Gaon Panchayat in Unakoti district of northern Tripura on Friday night. A few others in the group, however, managed to escape under the cover of darkness. BSF personnel rescued the injured youth and took him to Kailashahar District Hospital, where doctors declared him brought dead. The deceased was identified as Mazid Ali (30) of Nischintapur village under Kulaura Police Station in Moulvibazar district of Bangladesh.
The firing incident took place near Border Pillar No. 1852/14 under the Latiapura Border Outpost. It is learnt that BSF personnel noticed a group of 10 to 12 persons moving towards the border with a large quantity of Burmese cigarettes and asked them to stop. Defying the instructions, the group started running towards the border, following which BSF personnel opened fire.
The border areas of Unakoti and North Tripura districts have become prone to smuggling for quite some time. Apart from Burmese cigarettes, these areas are also sensitive to the smuggling of cattle from both Myanmar and India. Incidentally, BSF personnel also recovered 24 cattle from the Rowa Reserve Forest area in North Tripura district. Personnel of the 199 Battalion launched a massive search operation in the forest area and found the cattle scattered at different locations.
Officials presume that smugglers had brought the cattle for illegal transportation into Bangladesh, but the attempt failed due to BSF intervention. However, the smugglers managed to escape after sensing the presence of BSF personnel in the vicinity.
Only four days ago, BSF personnel recovered 10 cattle from the forest areas of Yubarajnagar in North Tripura district. An official source said the BSF has recently intensified vigil along the border areas.
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