People's Democracy

TRIPURA

Extremists Are A Worried Lot Today

THE outlawed NLFT extremists of Tripura are a worried lot today, because of the severe setbacks they have suffered in the wake of the crackdown by security forces and the campaign being run by the tribal masses against extremism. It was this thing that made 11 NLFT extremists surrender, along with 13 accomplices, on May 27. This was the biggest group to surrender since the February 26 assembly polls in the state.

Laying down their arms before the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) at the Amarpur subdivision headquarters in South Tripura, these extremists surrendered an AK-47 and an AK-56 rifles, a carbine, 7 magazines, 359 rounds of bullets and 3 Chinese-made grenades. Those who surrendered were interrogated by the fact-finding teams from the state as well as central intelligence services.

On the other hand, as one more in the series of successes attained by security forces in counter-insurgency operations, jawans of the Assam Rifles, acting on a tip-off, nabbed a notorious NLFT extremist at Chakakupara under Santirbazar police station, South Tripura, in a pre-dawn swoop on May 29. Two country-made pistols and a country-made gun were recovered from the said extremist who is also a firearms maker. He was turned over to the police later in the day.

During a calling attention motion on the same day, that was the last day of the state assembly’s budget session, CPI(M) legislator Sudhan Das pointed out that the chief executive member of the INPT-controlled Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (ADC) was changed on May 24 at the behest of the NLFT, the outlawed extremist organisation that controls the INPT. Incidentally, the news was flashed by the state CPI(M)’s organ, the Daily Desher Katha, on the basis of concrete evidence. (See People’s Democracy, June 1.)

Sudhan Das also pointed out that three ADC executive members have been chargesheeted in the court for sending 69 college students, both male and female, to NLFT camps in Bangladesh territory to impart them arms training. Saying the course of events has exposed beyond doubt that the INPT and the NLFT are two sides of one and the same coin, Das asked whether the state government would inquire into the allegation that extremists have been stalking the ADC headquarters at Khumulwng, West Tripura, and even occupying the quarters allotted to ADC functionaries in the state capital Agartala. Amid the absolute silence in the opposition Congress-INPT benches on this score, chief minister Manik Sarkar challenged the INPT leaders to clear themselves of the grave charge of complicity with the extremists.

In the meantime, the Tripura Upajati Ganamukti Parishad (GMP) and the SFI-affiliated Tribal Students Union have launched a massive campaign including mass deputations to all zonal offices of the ADC against the unbridled corruption, nepotism, sponsoring of extremists and violation of democratic procedures in the ADC. As part of this mass campaign, a big mass deputation was taken on May 31 to the ADC headquarters at Khumulawng where NLFT extremists have been sheltered en masse in the midst of their growing desperation because of the crackdown and the campaign of the security forces and the people respectively. (INN)