Tripura protestors urge CM to act against Bangladeshi armed group PCJSS (Santu)

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaAugust 12, 2025

Nearly 1,000 people under the banner of the Amarpur Sub-Division Conscious Citizens’ Forum marched through Amarpur in Tripura’s Gomati district on Tuesday, demanding the closure of camps allegedly run by the Bangladeshi armed group Parbattyo Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS) led by Santu Larma.

The demonstrators submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha via the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, urging immediate measures to secure Tripura’s borders, arrest and deport PCJSS (Santu) leaders and cadres, and dismantle the group’s alleged bases.

In their memorandum, the protestors claimed the PCJSS (Santu) has been facilitating organised illegal immigration from Bangladesh, with its leaders and cadres settling inside Tripura and its armed members establishing camps along the Indo-Bangladesh border. They cited the June 3 arrest of 13 PCJSS members in Hapania, Agartala, who had reportedly crossed the border illegally and were seeking medical treatment for injuries, as evidence of the group’s infiltration.

The Forum alleged that the PCJSS (Santu) is engaged in drug trafficking, smuggling of Burmese cigarettes, cattle trafficking, and arms smuggling, and receives both financial and political support from Pakistan’s ISI in addition to backing from Bangladesh. According to the protestors, the group operates from settlements in Nandan Nagar and Nagicherra in Agartala and runs armed camps in Narayanpur, Lakkhidar Para, Korollyachari, Kamalakha under Gandachara Sub-Division, Midhingechari under Kanchanpur Sub-Division, and Sushenpara (Baghechara) under Amarpur Division.

Locals in border areas, the memorandum stated, are routinely subjected to intimidation, with cadres demanding “taxes” from visitors and preventing lawful activities. The protestors warned that the continued presence of these camps posed a serious threat to the security and livelihood of citizens living near the frontier.