Ten more Bangladesh-trained terrorists surrender

Agartala, Jan 10 : With Bangladesh continuing its crackdown against militants active in northeast India, 10 more terrorists, including four women, have fled from that country and surrendered to Indian authorities this week, officials said here Saturday.

Four All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) guerrillas fled from their camps in Khagrachari in Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in southeast Bangladesh and surrendered to the Border Security Force (BSF) in west Tripura Friday, the officials said.

The four surrendered tribal guerrillas include publicity secretary of the banned ATTF Raj Kumar Debbarma, 38, and ATTF supremo Ranjit Debbarma’s private secretary Biswajit Debbarma, 36.

The surrendered militants also deposited some arms and ammunition, a computer, Bangladeshi currency and incriminating documents. They are being interrogated by senior police officials.

Six extremists, including four women, laid down their arms earlier this week after they escaped from their Bangladeshi hideouts.

“In the base camps of ATTF in Bangladesh, there are huge arms and ammunition stored but there aren’t sufficient rebels to use them,” the surrendered militants told police.

A senior police official said: “The ATTF is trying to buy an FM radio channel in Bangladesh. The ATTF leaders are negotiating with private parties in that country to procure the radio channels to earn money.”

According to police, about 370 tribal guerrillas of the ATTF and National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), including many carrying rewards of Rs.250,000 and with Interpol arrest warrants against them, have fled from their Bangladeshi camps and surrendered to Indian security forces in 2009.

The ATTF and the NLFT have been demanding independence for indigenous tribals and the secession of Tripura from India.

Security officials say militants belonging to various rebel groups in the northeast region have set up about 100 camps and hideouts in different parts of Bangladesh, specially Sylhet district and Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) bordering India’s Tripura, Mizoram and Meghalaya states.