NIA Conducts Major Raids in Tripura Targeting Document Forgery for Illegal Infiltrators

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) collaborated with Tripura Police to execute multiple raids across Unakoti district early today as part of a significant operation targeting cross-border human trafficking and illegal infiltration, according to police sources who spoke with NDTV.

Authorities were reportedly searching for two key suspects: Paritosh Shil, a 45-year-old salon owner, and Ranu Pal, a 42-year-old hawker, as confirmed by Tripura police sources.

Both individuals are suspected of manufacturing counterfeit identity documents for infiltrators connected to international human trafficking networks.

Police sources indicated that these raids were linked to a 2023 case involving illegal infiltration in Unakoti district.

Though no arrests have been made thus far, searches and investigations continue under the supervision of senior NIA and district police officials.

Shil reported that NIA officers questioned him for over three hours during the raid at his residence. During the interrogation, agents showed him a photograph of someone named Rahim, to whom 13 calls had allegedly been made from Shil's mobile phone. However, Shil denied knowing this individual and suggested someone else might have used his phone without permission.

He has been instructed to appear at the NIA's Ahmedabad office on November 20 for additional questioning.

Last November, the NIA conducted similar searches in Sonamura within Tripura's Sepahijala district, investigating Bangladeshi operatives with connections to Al-Qaeda.

Concurrent raids were executed across nine locations spanning Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and Assam, targeting individuals suspected of supporting or financing the banned terrorist organization.

Those operations yielded incriminating documents, digital devices, and evidence related to terror funding activities.

NIA investigations revealed that the premises raided belonged to suspected sympathizers of a Bangladesh-based Al-Qaeda network.