Bangladeshi drone found inside Indian territory in Tripura, probe launched

A suspected Bangladeshi drone was found inside the Indian territory of southern Tripura on Monday, triggering tension in the border villages, officials said. 

Police, quoting the local people, said that farmer Sadhan Mazumdar first spotted the mini drone in a paddy field near the India-Bangladesh border at Ballamukha, under Bilonia subdivision. The drone was found inside the barbed wire fencing and around 600 meters from the zero-line of the border. Villagers immediately informed the local police.

A police official claimed that a few days ago, the villagers saw a drone flying over the area from the direction of Bangladesh, appearing to conduct an aerial survey. The villagers suspect the recovered drone might be the same one, the official said.

Both the Border Security Force (BSF) and the Tripura Police have launched an investigation to determine the origin of the drone and the purpose behind its flight in the sensitive border region.

Police official Swapan Sen, who is also part of the investigating team, stated that the drone might have originated from the Bangladesh side of the border. The discovery of the drone has triggered concern and curiosity among locals, who fear possible surveillance or cross-border intrusion activities.

Tripura shares the second-longest international frontier of 856 km with Bangladesh after West Bengal, which shares 2216 km borders with the neighbouring country. Four northeastern states of Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km) share a 1,880-km border with Bangladesh.

Tripura Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha earlier this week said that the state government has taken a series of steps to prevent illegal infiltration from Bangladesh, and the BSF as well as the state forces, including the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), are on a strict vigil round-the-clock.

The Chief Minister, while addressing the state Assembly session, informed that 742 cases were registered under the Indian Passports Act and the Foreigners Act in three years.

He said that besides joint patrolling by the BSF and the state forces in the unfenced areas along the international border, raids are being conducted on the basis of intelligence reports. District-level Anti-Human Trafficking units were formed to curb human trafficking, he said.

Dr Saha, who also holds the Home portfolio, said that currently, cases are being registered against illegal infiltrators under two laws – the Indian Passports Act and the Foreigners Act. Under these two laws, a total of 112 cases were registered in 2022, 303 cases in 2023, and 327 cases in 2024, he told the House.