Agartala: Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) workers excavated a mortar shell of Pakistan from the lake of Kasba, South-western location of Agartala – one of the major tourism circuits of the state on Wednesday.
Officer In-charge of Kamalasagar police station Jibesh Shyamroy said the mortar has brought by the bomb squad of Tripura police to Agartala to de-activate and further investigation of the shells.
According to report, MGNREGS workers were engaged for excavation of the lake last week. On Tuesday, a worker’s spade hit to a metal body under deep soil of the lake during excavation. They dig out the sealed mortar weighing amount 600 gram and report to Border Security Force (BSF) personnel.
The mortar marks the identification LOT 7050666 PAK 71 and SELL PAK ’71, which appears in pumpkin shaped, metal piece; police said adding that they could not confirm whether it is live.
It is suspected during Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971, Pakistani Army used the mortar but it was dropped into the water body and as a result, it was not blast.
Since, this is for the first time the Kasba lake excavation started, nobody noticed it ever before under water. “Experts came and interacted with the labourers and villagers immediately after the recovery and requested not to be panic over such incident and alerted the workers to inform the police if any further such thing they find during excavation,” Shyamroy said.
Bangladesh Liberation Army had several camps in Tripura and Kamalasagar area, along Indo-Bangladesh border was one of the prominent hideouts for them.
Pakistan used hundreds of mortars and live ammunition during 1971 war against Liberation Army and their Indian associates. Several villages and property had damaged and about hundred Indian villagers residing along the border and sheltering the Bangladeshi army was killed during the period. (UNI)