Agartala, August 08, 2024: In a heroic operation, the Border Security Force (BSF) came to the rescue of 17 Indian workers employed by AFCONS Infrastructure Pvt Ltd, who were stranded in Bangladesh due to ongoing unrest. The workers, engaged in the construction of a 52 km four-lane road from Akhaura to Kishoreganj, will always remember BSF as their savior.

“We received a distress call late in the evening,” said Patel Piyush Purusottam Das, IPS, Inspector General of Tripura Frontier BSF. “The workers were en route to ICP Akhaura from the Bangladesh side and needed safe passage through the ICP during the night,” he added.

A swift and coordinated response was initiated at the nodal officer level between BSF and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). “In a well-planned operation, both forces displayed remarkable synergy,” added Das. BGB ensured the safe movement of the workers up to the ICP, facilitating customs and immigration clearance before handing them over to BSF at ICP Agartala.

“BSF is not only India’s first line of defense but also the first responder to crises,” emphasized Das.

In another significant development, BSF troops apprehended two Bangladeshi nationals and one Indian national from the area of BOP Teberia in West Tripura district. The individuals were attempting to cross the border fence into Bangladesh during the night of August 7-8, 2024.

Additionally, on August 7, BSF and local police detained an Indian tout from a hotel in Kumarghat in Unakoti district. The individual was involved in facilitating the movement of two Bangladeshi transgenders, who were apprehended by BSF troops on August 6 from the area of BOP Yakubnagar in North Tripura district.

BSF has intensified its operations along the international border to curb trans-border crime. In several operations, BSF troops seized 4.1 tonnes of sugar, 90 kg of ganja, and other contraband worth ₹7.25 lakhs.