Anti-Terror Agency Launches Major Raids in Tripura Over Forged IDs for Infiltrators

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), in coordination with Tripura Police, launched a series of early-morning raids across Unakoti district on November 12, 2025, targeting a suspected document forgery racket linked to cross-border human trafficking and illegal infiltration from Bangladesh. The operations, focused on residences in areas like Kailashahar, aimed to trace two key suspects: Paritosh Shil, a 45-year-old salon owner from Bhagyapur, and Ranu Pal, a 42-year-old hawker. No arrests were made during the searches, but investigators seized items including mobile phones, a bank passbook, and other potential evidence for forensic analysis. The raids, supervised by senior NIA officers from the Guwahati branch and local police, stem from a 2023 case investigating the fabrication of fake identity documents, such as Aadhaar cards and voter IDs, to enable infiltrators to blend into Indian society and relocate to urban centres.

Sources indicate the NIA team arrived in Tripura on November 11, tipped off by the Ahmedabad branch about the suspects' involvement in an international network supplying forged papers to Rohingya refugees and other migrants crossing the porous 856 km India-Bangladesh border. Shil reported to local media that agents searched his home around 4 a.m., confiscating his phone and passbook before summoning him to the NIA's Ahmedabad office on November 20 for questioning. At Pal's residence, three mobile devices were taken for examination, raising suspicions of digital trails connecting to handlers across the border. Tripura Police Superintendent Rajdeep Deb confirmed the joint effort, noting the district's vulnerability due to its proximity to Bangladesh, where such rackets often originate to facilitate unlawful activities, including potential terror financing.

This probe builds on the NIA's intensified crackdown in the Northeast, where Tripura serves as a primary corridor for infiltration amid regional instability. In November 2023, the agency arrested over 20 individuals across five Tripura districts—Unakoti, West Tripura, Khowai, Sepahijala, and South Tripura—for similar human trafficking offences, including aiding Rohingya entries detected en route to Guwahati. Those operations, part of a nationwide sweep across 10 states, uncovered tout networks charging migrants up to ₹50,000 per forged set, with 80% of border facilitators nabbed. More recently, in August 2024, the Chakma Development Foundation urged mass verifications after the Border Security Force detained 1,675 intruders, including 174 Rohingyas, mostly in Unakoti and neighbouring districts, highlighting unchecked movements posing national security risks.

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As investigations continue without an official NIA statement, authorities emphasise the broader implications for border security in a state grappling with demographic shifts and ethnic tensions. Unakoti's terrain aids clandestine crossings, often exploited by organised syndicates blending trafficking with smuggling of drugs and arms. While no direct terror links emerged in these raids, past NIA actions in Tripura tied similar forgeries to Al-Qaeda funding via Bangladeshi operatives, as seen in 2024 searches in Sepahijala. Local communities, including indigenous groups like the Chakmas, have voiced concerns over resource strains from unchecked influxes, calling for comprehensive probes. With forensic results pending, the agency anticipates expanding the net to dismantle the interstate web, underscoring Tripura's role in India's vigilant frontier defences.

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