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Tripura insurgency : Bangla role in NLFT activities |
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Plagued by serious internal dissension and the recent spate of surrenders, militants of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force and the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have initiated steps to resolve their differences and join hands before launching a fresh offensive.
The decision came in the wake of a series of flushout operations launched by Bangaldesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) and Bangladesh Rifles.
The decision was taken at a meeting, attended by Tiger Force chief Ranjit Debbarma and NLFT president Biswamohan Debabrma, in a posh Dhaka locality on August 20 under the auspices of Bangladeshi intelligence and ISI agents.
The meeting decided that within a definite time frame the Tiger Force militants and the NLFT rebels would merge and the militant camps close to the Tripura border would come under a single leadership.
There are as many as 69 camps being run separately by the outfits along the state’s eastern border. It was decided at the meeting that the camps would be run jointly under a single leadership. The details would be sorted out at the top level, an official source said.
Highly-placed sources in the special branch (intelligence wing) of the state police said information in this regard has been gathered from militants who have laid down arms recently and from agents operating across the border.
Sources said the two militant outfits of Tripura had always been at loggerheads, but the recent surrender of 20 leading commanders belonging to both the groups since April last year, has forced both the militant groups to rework their strategies.
The recent bomb blasts in Bangladesh have triggered intense search operations by Bangladeshi security forces against the anti-Indian militants based there.
According to the feedback we have received, leaders of both the militant groups have requested the Bangladeshi intelligence for protection, said the source.
The security set-up in the state was being further streamlined in view of the new threat. “The groups would not be able to do much because they have already lost their support base among the tribals.
NLFT top gun killed
Meanwhile, in a major success in counter-insurgency operations, an area commander of the banned NLFT was killed in an encounter on August 31. Another NLFT militant was also arrested.
Sources said acting on a tip-off, a combined force of police and Tripura State Rifles jawans launched special search operations in remote Naithongcherra area under Manu police station.
A group of securitymen crawled up the hillside and stormed the hideout. They recovered the bullet-riddled body of NLFT area commander Jipal Tripura along with a rifle and other incriminating materials.
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