Seven more Tripura tribal separatists surrender

Seven more Tripura tribal separatists surrenderAgartala, Dec 17 : Seven more tribal separatists from the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have surrendered to security forces after fleeing their camps in Bangladesh, police said Thursday.

"The Bangladesh-trained tribal guerrillas led by their self-styled captain Ramsai Reang, 34, surrendered before senior officers of the Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and Assam Rifles Wednesday," a police spokesperson said.

The surrendered militants, aged 29 to 34, fled from their camps in different areas in Bangladesh few days back after security forces there launched a crackdown against the Indian militants taking shelter in their country.

The surrendered militants also deposited some arms and ammunition, including US and Chinese made fire-arms besides Bangladeshi currency.

They are being interrogated by senior police officials.

According to police, about 350 tribal guerrillas of the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) and 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 this year.

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

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. (IANS)