Eskuf cough syrup haul in Tripura: YC launches mass letter campaign to Railway Minister
Agartala, Nov 2: In the wake of recent Cough syrup haul at the Jirania Station, the Youth Congress in Tripura has launched a statewide letter campaign addressed to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, protesting the alleged transportation of narcotics through a Delhi–Tripura goods train.
The campaign began in Agartala on Sunday, with the opposition youth wing announcing plans to dispatch over 10,000 letters in the coming days. The move follows the seizure of 1,07,800 bottles of banned Eskuf cough syrup from a goods train at Jirania railway station in West Tripura on October 17.
Tripura Youth Congress President Neel Kamal Saha said the campaign aims to highlight the rising use of railway routes for drug trafficking.
“We have started sending letters from Agartala to the Railway Minister. Similar campaigns will soon be launched from every block and locality across the state,” Saha told reporters.
In the letters, the Youth Congress accused certain leaders of the ruling BJP of colluding with drug traffickers and corrupt traders to turn Tripura into a hub for narcotic smuggling.
“These are not small-time peddlers. They are influential figures with political backing, and the police are reluctant to act against them,” Saha alleged, demanding strict action against all those involved.
Meanwhile, the Tripura Police Crime Branch (TPCB) has arrested Rajib Dasgupta (42), described as one of the key masterminds behind the drug consignment valued at around ₹5.4 crore. Officials said Dasgupta is linked to an interstate drug network operating across the Northeast.
A senior police officer informed that another prime suspect remains absconding and that multiple raids are underway to trace him. Acting on intelligence inputs, a joint team comprising Tripura Police, Assam Rifles, Government Railway Police (GRP), Special Task Force (STF), and the Customs Department intercepted the goods train at Jirania and recovered the banned Eskuf bottles.
The syrup, which contains Codeine Phosphate and Triprolidine Hydrochloride—substances commonly abused as narcotics in India and neighbouring countries like Bangladesh—was found hidden in two wagons carrying chicken feed, rice, and other commodities.
The unclaimed consignment was seized after an overnight operation on October 16–17, and the recovered items have been handed over to the Customs Department for further investigation. Police suspect the narcotics were meant to be smuggled into Bangladesh through illegal border routes.
Authorities have termed the operation one of the major breakthroughs in Tripura’s ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking networks.
