From Our Correspondent
AGARTALA: The Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has finally launched onslaught on militant hideout at Khagracherra in Chittgong Hill Track (CHT) and apprehended NLFT’s (Biswamohan) vice president Subir Debbarma, highly placed sources confirmed here on Friday.
According to security analysts, the banned outfit National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) might have suffered a serious jolt after the detention of its vice president. Earlier, outfit’s self-styled foreign secretary Uptal Debbarma was arrested from Mizoram-Tripura border October last year.
Based on inputs of BSF intelligence, a team of RAB has carried out special operation at a hideout of NLFT in Khagracherri on Thursday and picked up the outfit’s self-styled vice president on Thursday.
Later, he was taken to Dhaka for interrogation.
Of late, the BSF intelligence sent a report on possible locations of outfit’s hideout where Subir was believed to have taken shelter to its Bangladesh counterpart. Based on the inputs, RAB laid a trap and caught the rebel leader.
However, it was not confirmed whether more rebels were being arrested during the raid. The RAB move has virtually substantiated Bangladesh Prime Minister Shiekh Hasina’s promises of not allowing anti-Indian forces to use Bangladesh soil.
Latest intelligence inputs revealed, the number of cadres and their family members has been dwindled to 120-150 and most of them are living a ‘normal life’ in different places of Chittagong Hill Track (CHT) and Moulavi Bazar districts of Bangladesh.
As of now, eight to ten hideouts still exist in Bangladesh soil mostly in CHT and Moulavi Bazar districts and they are not like what NSCN or ULFA have had in Bangladesh.
Lower level cadres of both NLFT and splinter group of ATTF (Sachin Debbarma) have been mixed up with local villagers in Bangladesh soil making it difficult for the security forces to identify them, said a top Central intelligence officer here recently.
“Since they don’t have arms, it becomes literally tough for men in uniform to identify insurgents and their collaborators, said a top security official here on Friday
Camps belonging to NLFT (Biswamohan) are mostly concentrated in CHT while ATTF (Sachin) faction has been roaming around Moulavi Bazar district of Bangladesh, just opposition of Kamalpur-Khowai border.
