Agartala, Aug. 31 :     Having virtually rid the entire Takarjala police station area of Bengalis, the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura militants have now trained their guns on the minuscule Manipuri community in Tripura. On Tuesday, more than 50 Manipuri families, who had contributed immensely along with the Hindu and Muslim Bengalis to converting the barren tilla lands into lush green croplands, were forced to leave their ancestral homes at Telarbon village under Takarjala police station. They have taken shelter in Chhonkhola village under Bishalgarh police station. Confirming the exodus, police sources in Bishalgarh said on August 25, the Manipuri peasants in Telarbon village had gone to work on their paddy fields in the morning. A group of unruly tribals, backed by militants, beat them up severely and injured three of them. The tribals also directed them to quit the village. The Manipuris waited for a while after Tripura State Rifles and CRPF jawans asked them to stay put. Since no security post was set up, they left the village on Tuesday and took shelter in the mandap of Chamdung Singh of Chhonkhola village. The forced displacement of Manipuris triggered strong reaction as leaders toured the deserted village. Rajkumar Kamaljit Singh, chief of Manipuri Apunba Committee, said, 'It is really shocking because Manipuris were brought here by Tripura kings at least two centuries ago.' Singh said former Tripura King Rajdhar Manikya married Hariseswari, daughter of erstwhile Manipuri monarch Bhagyachandra in the late 18th century and made her his chief queen. Since then, matrimonial relations between the royal houses of Manipur and Tripura continued till early last century when King Radhakishore Manikya married Manipuri princess Tulsibati. A girls' school, set up by Radhakishore Manikya, is still named 'Maharani Tulsibati Balika Vidyalaya'. Asserting that Tripura had a Manipuri population of only 40,000, Rajkumar Singh strongly condemned the attacks on the peace-loving community, saying, 'I am shocked by what has been happening in Tripura over the past seven years. It is unfortunate that the small Manipuri community which made great contribution to Tripura like the Bengalis is being targeted and displaced.' The militants have already driven away a large number of Bengalis, both Hindus and Muslims, from the Autonomous District Council areas and are now targeting smaller communities. Former chief minister Samir Ranjan Barman said, 'This is happening because of the incompetence of the state government. It must resign.' Trader killedSaha's wife had rushed to the nearby CRPF camp asking for help but the CRPF directed her to contact the police.