As the District Polls in Tripura are knocking at the door, Tripura Police reiterated its hardened stance against outlawed organizations and their sympathizers. Meanwhile, Tripura Police arrested two collaborators of banned NLFT while the third collaborator was snatched by a group of people.
Speaking to media, DGP of Tripura Police VS Yadav on Wednesday asserted that people having links with outlawed organizations would not be spared at any cost, and in such cases, no political affiliation could save the accused person. Yadav also said that the police were trying every bit to eradicate leftover cadres of proscribed NLFT adequate efforts were being put to prevent them from getting any financial support.
Yadav’s statement came in the wake of an incident where an NLFT collaborator was snatched from police custody by a group of people, precisely the leaders of ruling BJP’s ally IPFT party on Tuesday. The incident indicated that NLFT cadres were enjoying political patronage at certain pockets of the state. According to the police, two NLFT overground activists identified as Swapan Debbarma and Rabi Charan Debbarma were arrested from Ambassa for their links with the NLFT Umthai Debbarma group.
They had recruited ten youths from the Khowai region for the NLFT and some extortion notes were also recovered from their possession. After analyzing their call records, it was further found that they were in touch with some NLFT leaders. During preliminary interrogation, it was revealed that one Manoranjan Debbarma of Khowai’s Champahaur area was also supporting them in their move of recruitment.
The police, acting on the inputs shared by the arrested persons, raided the residence of Manoranjan and succeeded in apprehending him. But, a large number of people from the village surrounded the police team and prevented them from taking him to the police station. The police team was overpowered and a scuffle broke out between the police and general public dominated by supporters of IPFT. Some police personnel also sustained injuries during the scuffle and the mob succeeded to set the accused Manoranjan Debbarma free from police custody.
DGP Tripura VS Yadav confirmed the incident and said that strict actions would be taken against those who were actively trying to revive the militancy in Tripura. “We have all the details and a specific complaint has been lodged in connection with the incident. Now, we are analyzing the sections under which the case is lodged and accordingly we will take action. It depends on the framed sections whether we can arrest them or send notices”, said the DGP.
He also said the NLFT was undergoing a serious financial crisis and thus they were trying to generate funds by slapping rampant extortion notices. The police are wholeheartedly trying to thwart every kind of financial support for the NLFT. The police chief also later added that some other militant groups were also active in Bangladesh and there might have been some collaborations between the groups.
