People's Democracy

Extremists strike in Tripura

THE outlawed extremists in Tripura have stepped up their heinous and inhuman activities to spark ethnic strife and stall the multifarious welfare and development programmes of the state government. NLFT extremists carried out a dastardly  attack in the Ganganagar Police Station area. This attack was on a convoy of state government’s administrative-cum-health-care camp along with security forces who were on their way back from the village. The attack left four security personnel and one motor worker killed and six others grievously injured.

Left Front government in Tripura is organising a programme of providing administrative and health-care facilities at the door step of the inhabitants of remote and backward areas. After the successful conduct of the forenoon camp at remote Jatindra Para of Ganganagar as part of the programme, quite a number of administrative and health department personnel, including a deputy collector of Dhalai district headquarters and a medical officer of Ganganagar primary health centre were on their way back in a convoy along with a platoon of each of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and CRPF jawans.

The CRPF jawans have been entrusted the responsibility of piloting the convoy by patrolling the entire route both to and fro. But due to specific information on militants’ movement in the area on their way back from the camp, they just boarded the convoy vehicle under the impression that militants have left the area.

When the convoy was at a distance of 14 k.m. from Ganganagar Police Station, extremists lying in wait at a vantage point opened random fire on the three rearmost vehicles of the convoy. The security forces despite their disadvantageous position at the time, gave a resolute resistance in the 20 minutes fire fight, and foiled the arms loot bid of the extremists. The extremist ambush left a TSR Lance Naik, a CRPF constable and a motor driver killed on the spot and seven other security personnel and a health worker grievously injured.They were later hospitalised at Kulai PHC and then at GB Hospital, Agartala. Out of the 8 injured, 2 have succumbed to the injuries while being treated in GB Hospital.  The security forces found a dead body of an extremist from whom a pouch with a live cartridge was recovered at the spot.

Earlier similar attacks took place in the same area. On April 24, border road construction workers were attacked  by NLFT extremists. This was followed by the foiling of ATTF extremists’ major strike plan, thanks to an exemplary coordination among the people, police and para-military leading to the liquidation of two hardcore ATTF extremists in the April 27 encounter at Padmabill in west Tripura.

In separate statements, the CPI(M) state secretariat and chief minister Manik Sarkar vehemently condemned the dastardly attack by the NLFT militants. Language fails to adequately condemn the heinous inhumanity of a handful of tribal extremists, obstructing the Left Front government’s programme of providing health care facilities to the inhabitants of inaccessible areas of the state, the party statement said. Manik Sarkar, through his statement has sent stern signal to clampdown such devilish attempts to disturb the law and order situation in the state and the government’s efforts to provide health security to common people.