Photo Courtesy: India Today Group
Agartala: Tripura Police busted two men carrying illegal weapons on the Agartala-Khowai road. Officers stopped the pair at 9:50 pm on September 6 near the BSF Headquarters at Shalbagan. The arrests followed a tip from the Assam Rifles Field Intelligence Unit and the 35 Assam Rifles. The suspects were walking from Domdomia toward Agartala when the ambush team moved in.
Police identified the detainees as 29-year-old Suraj Kumar from Lakhisarai, Bihar, and 36-year-old Srikant Kumar from Vaishali, Bihar. A search of the men yielded two pistols, three magazines, eight rounds of 7.65 mm ammunition, and two mobile phones with SIM cards. The gear was bagged in front of an Executive Magistrate and witnesses. One officer noted, "A joint ambush was laid following information received from the Assam Rifles Field Intelligence Unit, Agartala, and 35 Assam Rifles, regarding two persons allegedly carrying illegal arms and ammunition while travelling on foot from Domdomia towards Agartala."
The men could not show valid permits for the stash. Police hauled the pair into court to request five days of remand for further questioning. The investigation continues.
Updated at 7th September 2026 at 6:00pm
SDPO NCC Subrata Barman confirmed that cases are registered under the Arms Act. Investigators are pushing to determine if the pair has additional accomplices currently active in the area and are probing whether these men are cogs in a larger trafficking machine.
This arrest marks another hit in an ongoing crackdown on illegal shipments originating from Bihar. Tripura officials point to a recurring trend of illicit firearms flowing into the state, often stashed on trains. Past operations at Agartala railway station saw authorities pull pistols and high-volume contraband from the Tripura Sundari Express and other inbound transport routes.
Security officials noted that Tripura's 856-km international border with Bangladesh keeps the region a prime target for arms and narcotics smugglers. While most of the border is fenced, police continue to monitor transit points to choke off these supply lines.
Updated at 8th September 2026 at 1:49am
Investigators are looking into specific historical patterns of weapon smuggling from Bihar to Tripura. Past operations include a November arrest of three people with country-made firearms and a May 8 incident where the Government Railway Police recovered eight pistols and 16 magazines from the Tripura Sundari Express after the train arrived from Firozpur.
SDPO Subrata Barman stated that while the current investigation has not yet pinpointed the exact origin of these specific weapons or their intended destination, the force is looking for any local links. "We have seized the firearms they had been carrying without any legal authorization," Barman said. Authorities are now questioning the pair to determine if they are part of a larger syndicate moving contraband into the region.
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