Wanted KLO militants arrested in Tripura

Three Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militants of Assam, who entered India from Bangladesh, have been arrested in the bordering Gandhachera subdivision of Tripura.

They were on Saturday handed over to the Assam Police as they were wanted in their home state for other heinous cases, said a senior police official.

Sub-divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Gandacherra, JawharLal Debbarma told ANI, "Three persons---Goutam Roy, Padma Deka and Manashjyoti Deka---were detained by Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel during their special operation on suspicious ground. They were handed over to the OC (officer in-charge) Raishyabari Police Station which, during the interrogation, figured out that they are the members of the KLO."

The militants had crossed in to India after completing their training in the camps of Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) in Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.

The militants were wanted by the Assam Police for the Kaliagaon case of Udalguri. Tripura Police had intimated neighbouring Assam Police which arrived here and took their custody for producing them before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Udalguri.

Mintu Sinha, Assistant Public Prosecutor, said, "They were forwarded to the court on a specific case for entering into India from Bangladesh through Raishyabari border area. After three days of remand in custody, they were produced in court and in the meantime it was discovered that they are wanted by the Udalguri district police for the Kaligaon case in heinous crime. So the Assam police also came to this court in Tripura with production of a warrant of these KLO militants and they were taken to Assam."

The incident has yet again alerted the security forces on reports that Tripura is being used as safe corridor by Northeast militants for moving in and out of Bangladesh which shares 857 km with Tripura.