Amarpur: Hundreds of people from both tribal and non-tribal communities gathered at Nutan Bazaar in South Tripura on Tuesday to demand the immediate arrest and expulsion of members of the Parbottya Chattagram Jana Samhati Samiti (PCJSS-Santu), a Bangladeshi armed group accused of drug trafficking, arms smuggling, and operating against Indian interests from across the border.
The demonstrators submitted a memorandum to Chief Minister Dr Manik Saha, alleging that the group, led by Jyotirindra Bodhipriyo Larma alias Santu Larma, had turned India into a safe haven after committing crimes in Bangladesh.
The protestors claimed that the group was behind a series of cross-border crimes including narcotics trafficking, arms smuggling, and support to insurgent outfits such as the Tripura United National Front (TUNF), which reportedly operates from the Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
They cited several seizures and arrests over the past year involving PCJSS-linked operatives, including a large cache of Burmese cigarettes in Tripura, arms recoveries in Mizoram, drug hauls in Lunglei, and arrests of suspected cadres who were later deported.
The group, they alleged, was actively targeting youth in Tripura and Mizoram with drugs like yaba, while also trafficking Burmese cigarettes and livestock.
According to the memorandum, PCJSS cadres in India include several key leaders who allegedly operate in coordination with Pakistan’s ISI and Bangladesh’s Directorate General of Forces Intelligence.
Protestors claimed that recruitment was focused particularly on the Reang tribal community, whose trans-border presence in Mizoram and Tripura made them vulnerable to infiltration and radicalisation.
They also accused the group of using extortion, kidnappings, and executions to raise funds, and of intimidating local tribal communities.
The protestors demanded a complete ban on PCJSS (Santu) in India and the deportation of all its members back to Bangladesh.
