Agartala, November 12:
A team of the **National Investigation Agency (NIA)** on Wednesday conducted searches at two locations in **Tripura’s Unakoti district** as part of an ongoing probe into a document forgery and illegal financial transaction case, officials said.
According to sources, the raids were carried out at the residences of **Paritosh Shil (45)**, a resident under **Kailashahar Police Station**, and **Ranu Pal (42)**, a resident under **Kumarghat Police Station**. Shil works as a barber, while Pal is a hawker by profession.
Speaking to the media, Shil confirmed that NIA officials searched his house and interrogated him for several hours. “They examined several documents and seized my mobile phone and bank passbook. The officials also instructed me to appear at the NIA office in Ahmedabad on **November 20**,” he said. Shil further mentioned that the investigators showed him a photograph of one **Rahim Ali** and questioned him regarding his connection, which he denied.
Sources revealed that both individuals are suspected of **fabricating fake documents**, engaging in **illegal financial dealings**, and maintaining **unauthorised cross-border contacts** with individuals in Bangladesh. However, the NIA has not yet issued an official statement on the searches.
A brief note from the **Tripura Police** stated that the searches were part of an ongoing NIA investigation into older cases, and local police provided logistical support during the operation.
Earlier, in **November 2024**, the NIA had conducted similar raids in **Sonamura, Sepahijala district**, in connection with activities of **Bangladesh-based operatives linked to Al-Qaeda**. Those nationwide operations had spanned **Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar, Tripura, and Assam**, leading to the recovery of incriminating documents and digital evidence tied to terror funding networks.
The latest raids indicate the agency’s continued efforts to trace cross-border criminal and terror-linked activities in the Northeast.
