At least two persons have been arrested for allegedly assaulting two Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) jawans on duty, a senior officer police said.

Mizoram deputy inspector-general of police (northern range) Lalbiakthanga Khiangte said initially Tripura police arrested three accused in connection with the incident on Sunday evening.

They were identified as Santilal Chakma, 31, Bimal Chakma, 19, and Mohanlal Chakma, 27, all from Kawnpui-I village in Tripura, he said. He said one accused, Santilal Chakma, escaped while doing a medical check-up in a hospital on Sunday night. The other two accused were detained at Vanghmun police station in Tripura.

According to Khiangte, a massive search has been launched by both Mizoram and Tripura police to catch the absconding accused and other culprits involved in the assault. Efforts are on to hand the accused to Mizoram police, he said.

A group of people numbering about 100 had assaulted two personnel of IRB, who were guarding border at Zomuantlang in Mamit district along the Mizoram-Tripura border on Saturday.

According to the police, the incident occurred when four local volunteers, two of them from Tripura, who were part of a village task force which guarded the inter-state border, were asked to stop playing cards and remain vigilant.

The four men incited their friends from a border village on Tripura side and allegedly beat up the two personnel, who were guarding the inter-state border to prevent cross-border movement in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, police said.

They were admitted to Aizawl civil hospital on Sunday and were discharged on Monday.

Several organisations and political parties, including state BJP condemned the incident and demanded stringent punishment against those involved in the incident.