Tripura HC directs State to submit ATR on infiltration

The Tripura High Court has asked the State Government to submit a detailed report on the steps taken to prevent infiltration from across the border within the next three months, an advocate said on Friday.

A division bench headed by Chief Justice MS Ramachandra Rao issued the directive on Thursday while hearing a petition filed by three persons, including Tipra Motha Party MLA Ranjit Debbarma.

The petitioners alleged that despite the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issuing guidelines for preventing infiltration, the state government has failed to take effective measures to address the problem. “The division bench asked the State Government to submit a detailed report within the next three months on the steps taken to detect, detain and deport infiltrators, as per the MHA guidelines,” Anthony Debbarma, who represented the petitioners, said.

The northeastern state shares 856 km of international border with Bangladesh, with around 85 per cent of the boundary having been fenced. Responding to the court’s directive, Ranjit Debbarma said infiltration should stop immediately to ensure internal security of the state.

The MLA said that while other states are carrying out anti-infiltration operations to identify and deport the illegal immigrants as per MHA guidelines, the Tripura government is not working properly in this regard.

“I had raised the issue at several forums but did not receive a proper response, prompting me to knock on the court’s doors. Now, the court will take the final call on the issue,” he said.