Tripura State Rifles to be deployed in West Bengal for election duties

The Tripura State Rifles (TSR) is set to be deployed in poll-bound West Bengal after completing election duties in Assam, officials said on Saturday.

According to a senior police official, ten TSR companies comprising 778 personnel were deployed in Assam following a request from the Ministry of Home Affairs (India). After the conclusion of polling for the 126-member Assam Assembly on 9 April, the TSR companies moved towards West Bengal on Friday night and are expected to reach the state on Saturday.

The forces will be deployed across multiple districts in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections, which will be held in two phases on 23 and 29 April. The counting of votes is scheduled for 4 May.

Officials said two ad-hoc battalions of the TSR, each consisting of five companies, were initially sent to Assam and will now be stationed in West Bengal as part of the Central forces. The battalions are being led by senior commandants Amarjit Debbarma and Alok Bhattacharjee.

The Ministry of Home Affairs had earlier requested 25 TSR companies for deployment in the two states. However, the Tripura government was unable to release the full contingent due to its own electoral commitments. The state is holding elections to the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) on 12 April, while a by-election for the Dharmanagar Assembly seat in North Tripura district was held on 9 April.

The TSR currently comprises 14 battalions, 11 of which are designated as India Reserve Battalions and can be deployed anywhere in the country when required by the Centre.

TSR personnel have previously been deployed during major elections across India, including the 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh. The force also provided security during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.

Trained in counter-insurgency operations, the TSR has played a key role in restoring peace in Tripura after decades of insurgency. Two TSR battalions, comprising around 2,000 personnel, are currently stationed with Delhi Police and at sites operated by South Eastern Coalfields Limited in Chhattisgarh. Another battalion is providing dedicated security to drilling operations of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation in Tripura.

With IANS inputs