Tripura State Rifles to provide security in poll-bound Jharkhand

Agartala, Oct 29 (IANS): The Tripura State Rifles (TSR), the state's elite counter-insurgency force, as part of the Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), would be deployed for security during polling in Jharkhand Assembly, an official said on Tuesday.

Voting for the 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will be held in two phases on November 13 and 20, while the counting of votes is slated for November 23.

A top official of Tripura Police said that on the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), six TSR companies comprising 480 to 500 personnel would go to poll-bound Jharkhand to provide security before and during balloting on November 13 and 20.

"TSR Commandant Alok Bhattacharjee and six Assistant Commandants would also go with the TSR personnel to lead the forces in Jharkhand. Efforts are on to book a train to ferry the TSR personnel to Jharkhand," the official told IANS, refusing to be quoted.

During the Lok Sabha elections between April 19 and June 1, the TSR had been deployed for polling duties in Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh.

Besides providing security during the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the India Reserve (IR) battalions of TSR had earlier performed election duties in almost all states to provide security during the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Trained in counter-insurgency operations, the TSR troopers have demonstrated excellent performance in Tripura in taming the four-and-a-half decades old terrorism in the northeastern state.

In the IR battalion, 75 per cent of its personnel are from Tripura, while the remaining are from different states across the country.

The TSR has 14 battalions, majority of which are IR battalions, which can be deployed in any state of the country if the MHA so requires.

Two TSR battalions, comprising around 2,000 personnel, including officers, have been posted in the national capital under the Delhi Police's authority since 2019 and in South Eastern Coalfields Ltd (SECL) in Chhattisgarh since 2022.

Apart from the two in Delhi and Chhattisgarh, one battalion is providing dedicated security to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation's drilling sites in Tripura.

In view of growing insurgency in Tripura during 1980s, the TSR force was raised on the pattern of Central Para Military Force (CPMF). Subsequently, the Tripura Assembly passed the Tripura State Rifles Act. 1983.

The official said that the role of TSR has been widely appreciated in combating and controlling insurgency in Tripura without any human rights violations.

The professionalism and high standards of the force have been appreciated and recognised on a number of occasions at the national level. The force is known for high operational adaptability and terrain mapping.

It has made a significant contribution in conducting elections in sensitive areas across the country, the official pointed out.