After Assam elections, Tripura State Rifles deployed in Bengal security!

The elite Tripura State Rifles (TSR) will be deployed in election-bound West Bengal as part of the central forces. Officials gave this information here on Saturday. Ten companies of the TSR, comprising 778 personnel, have been deployed to Assam, where elections to the 126-member state assembly were held on April 9, on the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), a senior police officer said.

Ten TSR companies left for West Bengal on Friday night after polling ended in Assam and are expected to reach there on Saturday. The officer told IANS that after reaching West Bengal, TSR troops will be deployed in various districts.

Voting for the 294 members of the West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases—on April 23 (152 seats) and April 29 (142 seats). Counting of votes will take place on May 4.

The officer further said that two battalions of TSR were earlier deployed in Assam and will now be deployed in West Bengal for election related operations. TSR (India Reserve Battalion) is being deployed in Assam and West Bengal as part of the central forces.

The officer said that two senior commandants (Amarjit Debbarma and Alok Bhattacharya) are leading the TSR battalions. He further informed that the Home Ministry had initially requested the Tripura government to arrange for 25 TSR companies for deployment in both the poll-bound states.

The TSR has 14 battalions, of which 11 are classified as Indian Reserve battalions. These units can be deployed in any state of the country as per the requirement of the Home Ministry.

TSR personnel were deployed for polling security in Maharashtra, Bihar, Odisha and Himachal Pradesh during the Lok Sabha elections held between April 19 and June 1, 2024.