In the first militancy-related killing in Tripura this year, National Liberation Front of Tripura militants shot dead eight family members of two of their surrendered comrades.
The police said the victims were kidnapped from Pushparampara — a hamlet 3 km from the Bangladesh border — on Monday and were killed in Kanchanpur, 180 km north of Agartala on Tuesday. The militants reportedly fled to Bangladesh after the killings.
The militants took the men and women to the bank of the Deo river, lined them up and riddled them with bullets. Deputy Inspector General (Operation) of Police Nepal Das said, “It was an act of vengeance.”
The NLFT was formed in 1989 to fight for a separate tribal homeland in the state. The outfit was outlawed in 1997 for subversive activities and shifted its base to Bangladesh.
The incident triggered a controversy among the state police officials, with some raising questions over the wisdom of forcing seven NLFT men to surrender in public, as it provoked the outfit to take revenge on their families.
The state’s ruling CPM claimed the victims were its workers and alleged that the opposition was using the NLFT to create trouble before the tribal district council elections.