NLFT insurgent among four arrested in Tripura

The police have arrested four people, including a member of the banned NLFT in Tripura’s Dhalai district and recovered Rs 15 lakh unaccounted cash from their possession, a senior officer

The police have arrested four people, including a member of the banned NLFT in Tripura’s Dhalai district and recovered Rs 15 lakh unaccounted cash from their possession, a senior officer said on Thursday.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of policemen on Wednesday apprehended three of the four from Raishyabari market in Gandacherra area, about 135 km from here.

During interrogation, the three admitted that they were waiting there for some members of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) to hand over the money, Assistant Inspector General of Police Subrata Chakraborty said.

“Based on their inputs, one more person was arrested in connection with the case,” he said.

All the four were charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, the officer said.

The state police had the information about extortion notices being circulated by the banned outfit in Raishyabari area, especially among construction agencies engaged in border fencing work, Chakraborty said.

“In course of the investigation, it transpired that a group of NLFT extremists with sophisticated arms led by Bikram Bahadur Jamatia was camping opposite to Raishyabari border inside Bangladesh and engaged in extortion,” the officer said.

He also alleged that some of the barbed wire fence construction agencies were “assisting extremist groups” by providing money clandestinely.

Tripura shares an 856-km-long international border with neighboring Bangladesh, of which around 67 km area is unfenced.

Four top leaders of the NLFT had surrendered with arms at the police headquarters here in December last year after facing acute food and financial crises in camps in Bangladesh.

The Centre had banned the NLFT in 1997 for unlawful activities. PTI

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