Agartala:A BJP youth leader shifted to Tripura Medical College on Tuesday night after he suffered a bullet injury during a skirmish between Border Security Force (BSF) personnel and an alleged group of smugglers under Ashabari border outpost of Sonamura in Sepahijala.
The victim was identified as Abul Hossain, the vice president of BJP Yuva Morcha Boxanagar Mandal allegedly had been accompanying a group along the Indo-Bangladesh border who were carrying goods for smuggling across the wire fencing in the evening at dark. BSF was able to identify Abul but couldn’t detain him.
When BSF personnel attempted to prevent the smuggling bid, a physical scuffle erupted between the smugglers and BSF personnel. In order to manage the situation, BSF opened fire and one of the bullets hit Abul Hossain in the back of his head. Others took him away with an injury taking the advantage of darkness, police claimed.
Later, police were informed by the doctors of Boxanagar primary health centre that Abul was brought to the hospital with a bullet injury but he has been shifted to Tripura Medical College hospital in serious condition. Meantime, BSF also reported the matter to the police about the skirmish. Accordingly, police here interrogated Abul in the hospital at night and recorded his statement.
Abul claimed to police that a BSF bullet hit him when they were walking on the border road and said, “Nobody was carrying any goods, and the question of smuggling doesn’t arise. There is a conspiracy from a vested quarter to defame him and his party with a false allegation of smuggling.”
However, BSF officials said jawans engaged in border patrolling spotted some suspicious movement along the borders close to gate number 174. When the BSF troopers ran close to the spot they found a group of people trying to pass some cows illegally by tearing a portion of barbed wire fencing. They added that Abul has been involved in smuggling activities and cross-border crimes and is listed in the BSF record.
