Agartala: Self-style Army Chief of banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) Panther Debbarma (50), along with his wife Nandarani Debbarma and an associate Puither Debbarma, surrendered before police at remote Anandabazar, triangle of Tripura-Mizoram-Bangladesh in North-eastern part of the state.
Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Kanchanpur Ashis Debnath said today that Panther, the dreaded militant leader and second-in-command of NLFT (Biswamohan) faction Panther Debbarma, alias Pandit, surrendered before police without arms.
Debbarma, after leading almost a decade in underground life, confessed that he, his wife and associate had escaped from the NLFT’s hideout in Jupui area of Chittagong hill tracks in Southern Bangladesh and entered into Indian Territory a week ago through Bhandarima border of North Tripura.
According to Debnath, upon entering India, Panther had contacted local police and expressed his desire to surrender and subsequently, police facilitated the process and paved the way for his surrender. “Since I ran away from the hideouts with two others, I could carry any arm and to be very frank, NLFT does not have many weapons now-a-days and the outfit has marginalised due to continuous surrender and desertion of members over past three years,” Debbarma admitted to police.
During interrogation, he revealed that after joining in NLFT group sometimes in 2003 he had under gone arms training in Chittagong Hill Track of Bangladesh.
He took part in killing and kidnapping of civilian both from Tripura and Mizoram and other insurgency related crimes.
However, due to financial crisis in the camp and internal conflict among leadership over the command and control of extremist outfit, they became frustrated and decided to surrender and fled away from the NLFT’s base camp in Bangladesh.
The state government had announced cash reward of rupees two lakh on Debbarma’s head, year after his joining in NLFT outfit. (UNI)
