Agartala/Silchar: Security has been tightened on the India-Bangladesh border to thwart any terror attack in Tripura and Assam during the Durga Puja festival that began Saturday.
According to intelligence reports, militants try to sneak into the northeast from across the border to create trouble during the festival, a senior Border Security Force officer told IANS.
He said vigil during the five-day festival used to be lax to allow people from across the border to take part in the festivites.
“But this time, there will be no laxity,” the officer, who did not want to be named, said.
“Troopers have been asked to maintain a close watch on the border to prevent any movement,” Inspector General of Police (IGP) Nepal Das told IANS in Agartala.
The last terror attack in Tripura during Durga Puja occurred in October 2008, when one person was killed and many injured after five blasts hit markets and bus stands in Agartala.
A police official in Silchar, a city in southern Assam dominated by Bengali Hindus, told reporters that security forces had fanned out in four districts, including trouble-torn Dima Hasao, to prevent any untoward incident.
Movement of trains will also be monitored, police said.
Over 20,000 security personnel besides bomb and dog squads have been deployed in Tripura, where over 2,000 community ‘pujas’ are being organised.
CCTV cameras and metal detectors have been installed at popular puja venues. Agartala IGP however said the state’s hilly tribal areas are calm this year– with none of the militant groups there asking people not to organise the festival.
Despite incidents when Hindus were targeted for celebrating religious festivals, pujas are being organised in about 300 tribal and extremist-prone areas this year, Nepal Das said. (IANS)