NLFT Extremists Abduct 11 People From Mizorm

NEW DELHI: Eleven people from Mizoram have been abducted along the inter-state border with Tripura, by the militants belonging to NLFT, the police informed on Saturday.

“NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) extremists Friday evening abducted 16 construction workers from Rajivnagar village along Tripura-Mizoram border. Later, the rebels released five people,” a Tripura police officer said.

The police also suspects that the militants might have taken these men across the border to Bangladesh.

The police official said “The NLFT rebels might have taken the hostages to Bangladesh as the place is just a few kilometre away from the India-Bangladesh border”, adding that “senior police officials have asked the Border Security Force to hold a flag meeting with the BGB (Border Guard Bangladesh) to rescue the hostages”.

Meanwhile, the security forces of Tripura and Mizoram have jointly launched a search operation in order to rescue the captives and also to nab the militants.

The 16 people who were initially kidnapped were all the residents of southern Assam’s Karimganj district and were Bengali Muslims and Chakma tribals, the police said.

Police further divulged that these men had gone to Rajivnagar village under Mamit district in Mizoram as construction workers and went to Mizoram through Tripura’s Kanchanpur area.

This is, however, not the first time that such instance has occurred.

The NLFT guerrillas, with their base in Bangladesh, have been kidnapping people in Tripura and Mizoram to collect ransom.

On June 14, three Tripura traders and their driver were kidnapped by NLFT guerrillas from the same area of Mizoram. However, they were subsequently freed by the rebels.

Further, these militants often move back to Bangladesh after the abduction which makes it difficult for the police and security forces to nab them.

While the India-Bangladesh boundary with Tripura has been fenced and security has been strengthened there, the NLFT extremists now use Mizoram as a corridor for their cross border activities.