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Tripura’s banned militant outfit is active in Bangladesh: Report
The report said that a small faction of NLFT, headed by its self-styled commander Dilip Debbarma, is making attempts to restart their operation in Khowai district of Tripura, nearly 50km from Agartala
The National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), a banned militants’ group, is operating from neighbouring Bangladesh and has been making attempts to spread their movement in Tripura again, according to a confidential report prepared by state and central security agencies, which HT has seen.
The northeastern state shares a 856km-long international border with Bangladesh, of which nearly 67km are yet to be fenced.
The report said that a small faction of NLFT, headed by its self-styled commander Dilip Debbarma, is making attempts to restart their operation in Khowai district of Tripura, nearly 50km from Agartala.
Another self-styled advisor of NLFT, Biswa Mohan Debbarma, is likely to be in Mizoram, self-styled secretary general of NLFT Utpal Debbarma and self-styled secretary of youth affairs, culture, agriculture Sachin Debbarma are in Bangladesh, while another self-styled commander Jacob Hrangkhawl is in Myanmar.
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The movement of a small group headed by Dilip Debbarma has been observed in Ganganagar, Raishyabari, Gandachera and Chawmanu in Dhalai district and possibly parts of Khowai district, the report stated.
The report was made based on discussions held at the 52nd meeting of Directional Level Lead Intelligence Agency ( LIA) on June 15. According to the report, two hideouts of the outfit are active at Silchari and Ujjanchari in Bangladesh’s Rangamati district, besides two safe houses in Dhaka and Chittagong.
In the meeting that was held after a brief gap due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the BSF, Tripura Special Branch of Police, Special Bureau, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, Customs etc., discussed transborder crimes, seizures of contraband items, different smuggling routes in the northeast region, border security along the international border with Bangladesh, insurgency issues etc.
As per the report, though the NLFT activities have become insignificant in past seven months, a camp located at Segunbagan in Bangladesh, barely five kilometres from the international border has been active since last October.
The outfit, reportedly has 40 cadres at present.
The NLFT was floated on March 12 in 1989 with the agenda of a sovereign Tripura. It was banned in 1997 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and then under the Prevention of Terrorism Act ( POTA).
As per Union Ministry of Home Affairs, the outfit has been responsible for many violent activities that included 317 insurgency incidents in which 28 security forces and 62 civilians lost their lives between 2005-2015 .
After peace talks with them in 2015, no violence has taken place, except a few abductions in last year.
