Altogether 1,165 Brus, belonging to 289 families, returned to Mizoram from the six relief camps in Tripura during the ninth round of the repatriation process, which concluded on Saturday, a home department official said on Sunday.
The repatriation exercise was the final attempt at bringing back 4,447 Bru families — identified by the state as its bona fide residents who fled to the neighbouring state during an ethnic clash over two decades ago, he said. Officials who were posted at the inter-state border since October 3, when the process began, have returned to their respective district headquarters.
The Mizoram government had earlier informed the Centre that the final round of the Bru repatriation exercise would conclude on Saturday and all officials would be withdrawn by the evening.
In a letter to Satyendra Garg, joint secretary (Northeast), home, on Friday, deputy secretary (home), David H. Lalthangliana. said all Mizoram government officials and hired vehicles, deployed at the border for the repatriation process, would be withdrawn from Saturday evening. It also asserted that Mizoram would not facilitate their return beyond November 30.
State home minister Lalchamliana said the government had taken several initiatives to repatriate the Brus, despite stiff resistance from several quarters. He asserted they would no longer make any effort to bring back the remaining Brus. He also said he welcomed the recent appeal made by Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb to Union home minister Amit Shah seeking permission to retain the remaining Brus.