TSR redeployed from Assam to West Bengal as central forces for high-stakes assembly polls

AGARTALA: As part of the Central forces, the elite Tripura State Rifles (TSR), which has previously undertaken election-related duties in more than a dozen states, is set to be deployed in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said here on Saturday.

A senior police official stated that, following a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), ten TSR companies comprising 778 personnel had been deployed in Assam, where elections to the 126-member State Assembly were held on April 9. After the completion of polling in Assam, the ten TSR companies moved to West Bengal on Friday night and are expected to reach the state on Saturday. "After reaching West Bengal, the TSR troops will be deployed across different districts," the official told IANS. Voting for the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be conducted in two phases -- on April 23 (152 seats) and April 29 (142 seats). The counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.

The official further noted that two ad-hoc battalions of the TSR, each comprising five companies, were initially deployed in Assam and will now be stationed in West Bengal to carry out election-related duties. "The TSR (India Reserve Battalion) is being deployed in Assam and West Bengal as part of the Central forces.

Two senior Commandants, Amarjit Debbarma and Alok Bhattacharjee, are leading the TSR battalions," the official said. He added that the MHA had initially requested the Tripura government to provide 25 TSR companies for deployment in the two poll-bound states. (IANS)

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