BSF’s Additional Director General (ADG), Eastern Command, Kolkata, Mahesh Kumar Aggarwal, visited several bordering areas and Border Outposts (BOPs) along the India-Bangladesh border with Tripura and reviewed operational preparedness of the border guarding force, officials said on Friday. 

A BSF spokesman said that during his four-day visit (June 24-27), Aggarwal, a senior IPS officer, interacted with field commanders and jawans to assess the situation along the India-Bangladesh border.

He said that the BSF ADG, along with Inspector General (IG), BSF Tripura frontier Ashwani Kumar Sharma, visited the BOPs falling under the districts of West Tripura, Sepahijala, South Tripura, Gomati and Dhalai.

The ADG, during his visit to the borders, took stock of the security scenario and reviewed operational readiness and vigilance on the frontiers.

Aggarwal separately held meetings with Tripura Governor Indrasena Reddy Nallu, Chief Minister Manik Saha, Chief Secretary J K Sinha and Director General of Police Anurag, and discussed various operational and administrative issues for effective border management in the state of Tripura.

The BSF ADG on Friday addressed a Sainik Sammelan at BSF’s Tripura frontier headquarters at Salbagan.

Lauding the tireless efforts and dedication of BSF officers and men in safeguarding the borders in Tripura, the top border guarding officer stressed the importance of good health, physical fitness and discipline of the personnel.

Tripura Chief Minister Dr Saha, who holds the home portfolio, recently once again firmly reiterated that the state government would not allow illegal immigrants from Bangladesh or Myanmar to enter Indian territory under any circumstances.

He said that during a recent meeting with the senior security officials of different agencies, including BSF, he requested the officials in the state to maintain close coordination among them to deal with the border-related issues and other related developments in view of the tension between India and Pakistan.

The Chief Minister further stated that if such infiltrators from across the border manage to enter Indian (Tripura) territory, they would be pushed back as per legal provisions.

Tripura, which has an 856 km border with Bangladesh, is surrounded on three sides by the neighbouring country, making the northeastern state very vulnerable and sensitive to cross-border migration issues.

Except for some patches, most of the frontier had been fenced to prevent smuggling, trans-border crimes, cross-border illegal movements by infiltrators and inimical elements.