Bangladeshi woman, 2 Indian touts arrested with fake Indian currency in Gomati; another Bangladeshi national held in Khowai

In a significant breakthrough, Tripura Police arrested a Bangladeshi woman along with two Indian human traffickers and seized a large quantity of fake Indian currency from the Dalak Bazar area under Birganj police station in Gomati district.

According to police sources, acting on specific intelligence on Saturday evening, a team from Birganj police station laid a trap near Dalak market and intercepted a suspected auto-rickshaw arriving from Natunbazar. During a search of the vehicle, police detained a suspected Bangladeshi national, identified as Pranati Tripura (35) of Khagrachhari district, Bangladesh, and recovered fake Indian currency worth Rs 1.44 lakh in Rs 500 denominations from her bag.

Police also arrested two Indian human traffickers who were travelling with her—Birchandra Jamatia (31) of Gamako village and Prabhat Hari Jamatia (40) of Daluma village under Amarpur subdivision.

All three accused were produced before a local court on Sunday with a prayer for three days’ police remand. However, the court remanded them to 10 days of judicial custody, police said.

Tripura, being a border state, has emerged as a major transit route for illegal cross-border movement, particularly involving Bangladeshi nationals. Such networks are often linked to human trafficking and smuggling of fake Indian currency. Security forces have repeatedly intercepted such rackets through sustained surveillance and intelligence-based operations.

Meanwhile, in another successful operation, Khowai district police arrested a Bangladeshi national along with two Indian touts from Khowai town.

Officer-in-Charge of Khowai police station, Krishnadhan Sarkar, said that police received confidential information about the suspicious movement of a Bangladeshi national around Maharajganj Market under Khowai police station. Acting on the tip-off, two police teams led by sub-inspectors were formed, and a search operation was launched.

Later that night, the Bangladeshi national was detained. During preliminary interrogation, he admitted to being a Bangladeshi citizen. The arrested person was identified as Mohammad Firoz Kabir, son of Mohammad Imran Ali, a resident of Tikrampur area in Chapai Nawabganj district of Rajshahi Division, Bangladesh.

Police said that soon after his arrest, Kabir’s mobile phone started receiving repeated calls from several numbers. By tracking these numbers, police detained two youths from the Asharambari–Banbazar area. They were identified as Shailen Debbarma and Ajit Debbarma. Both are tribal youths who, according to police, had been illegally facilitating cross-border movement of Bangladeshi nationals for a long time in areas under Champahowar police station.

A case has been registered under the Immigration of Foreigners Act, 2025, and a detailed investigation is underway. The Bangladeshi national and the two Indian touts were produced before a local court on Sunday with a plea for police remand for further interrogation. Police are also probing the possible involvement of more persons in the trafficking racket.