At least nine Tripura ultras have been picked up by B’desh police as a part of concerted crackdown on NLFT. The arrests are said to have been made from Saidabad area of Bramhanbaria district. Border Security Forces (BSF) is pleased by the development. Inspector General Daniel Alexander said: "We are aware of the reported arrests. We are waiting for formal confirmation from BDR".

The arrests were reported on May 17 by Dainik Janakhanta, a leading Bengali daily of B’desh. The daily said police intercepted a vehicle at Saidabad on May 15 last and picked up the nine Indian Tripura ultras. They were going to Bramhanbaria from Kasba in Comilla district. The daily also published the names of the arrested persons. These are: Mangal Debbarma, Raju Debbarma, Sumanta Debbarma, Sudhir Debbarma, Srijan Debbarma, Ramesh Debbarma, Chittaranjan Debbarma, Mawak and Debanerjit. All of then are from Champawhar of Khowai sub-division, West Tripura district. Humayun, driver of the vehicle and his assistant Siraj were also arrested. The reasons for the arrest are not yet known. But this is the first known crackdown on Tripura ultras on the Bangladesh soil.

All in all, this was not a great fortnight for the terrorists hiding in neighbouring countries. Organisations like ULFA, which had already lost grounds because of over-dependence on violence, may loose its foreign bases too soon.

|  Headlines  |  Editorial   | From Other Publications  |
|  Travel Column   |   News Briefs  |
| OT Main Page | Nena  Home Page  |