Agartala: As many as eight militants associated with two reportedly active factions of the Nationalist Liberation Front of Tripura surrendered before Tripura Police and Border Security Forces, respectively. Some arms and ammunition were also seized from their possession.
A Tripura police press statement said that five extremists of the NLFT faction headed by Parimal Debbarma laid down arms before the police personnel choosing to reintegrate into mainstream society.
The surrendered militants are identified as Netajoy Reang Naising (33), Mohonda Reang Salthang (36), Sukurnar Reang Sinai (27), Kiranjit Reang Berem (20) and Bishnuram Reang Balkang (25). They all come from various regions in North Tripura districts, particularly from areas in and around the Kanchanpur subdivision.
DIGP Intelligence Krishnendu Chakravertty said that they had been staying in the Bangladesh hideout of the militant outfit. When they came in touch with Tripura Police’s special branch, the cops convinced them to lay down their arms. Subsequently, they crossed the borders and surrendered at the police headquarters in Agartala.
The police recovered one Chinese Pistol, Two Chinese Rifles, 17 live rounds, 10 shotgun shells, a walkie-talkie with a charging port, a Bangladeshi mobile phone with SIM cards, documents like extortion notices and receipts, and Bangladeshi currency worth 770 Taka. The police said that this faction of the NLFT had actively tried to carry out operations in the bordering areas and attempted to launch recruitment drives.
“Since January 2023, a large number of NLFT cadres surrendered before security forces. So far, 26 active members of NLFT surrendered before Tripura Police and other security forces working in Tripura. During the period, 8 cadres of NLFT have been arrested by Tripura Police. With the surrender of 05(five) cadres today on 15-01- 2024 Tripura has further advanced towards making the state insurgency free”, the police statement added.
Meanwhile, three more unlisted militants associated with NLFT Biswa Maohan faction surrendered before BSF at Chawmanu in the Dhalai district of Tripura. The surrendered militants are known as Ranjan Tripura alias Gondla (28), Chitanjoy Tripura (38), and Raban Joy Tripura (28). All of them hail from the Dhalai district of Tripura.
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BSF officials said all of them joined the proscribed outfit in the year 2023. “As they realize that the path of violence has nothing to offer, they decided to return”, the official added.
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