Agartala, June 21: Militants of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura gunned down four persons, injured two and abducted another in three separate incidents last night. The victims included a headmaster.
Police sources said Nirmal Das (45), headmaster of Kolacherri Higher Secondary School in Kamalpur subdivision, was taking his brother-in-law Jayanta Das (35), a physical instructor in Chandraipara High School in Kamalpur, to GB Hospital here for treatment.
They were accompanied by superintendent of Kamalpur school inspectors’ office Jogesh Debbarma (39). At Ambassa, they found that the CRPF escort vehicles plying on Assam-Agartala national highway had left. But they persuaded Assam Rifles jawans to let their car move towards Agartala unescorted as Jayanta Das was in need of urgent treatment.
At 7.30 pm, when their car reached Mungiabari under Teliamura police station, militants fired on it from Atharomura hills. While Nirmal Das died on the spot, the other three, including driver Babul Ghosh (29), sustained serious injuries. Having heard the sound of gunfire, Teliamura police personnel, led by superintendent of police (West), T.B. Roy, rushed to the spot. They took all four to G.B. Hospital where Nirmal Das was pronounced dead. Debbarma died later in the night. Jayanta Das and Ghosh are said to be in a critical condition.
In another incident, another group of NLFT rebels shot dead the mother of a senior CPI(M) leader in remote Kantajala village under Srinagar police station in Bishalgarh subdivision.
Police sources said around 9 pm, NLFT militants stormed the house of senior CPM leader Prangour Das who is a member of the party’s Bishalgarh divisional committee. As he was not at home, the militants tried to kidnap his 16-year-old son Biswajit, a student of Class X. When Das’s 70-year-old mother Nandarani tried to resist, the insurgents shot her dead. Biswajit managed to escape in the dark.
Sources said Das has long been on the NLFT’s hitlist. The militants had actually wanted to kill him and this was the third attempt on his life.
In the third incident, a combined group of NLFT (Nayanbasi) rebels and Bangladeshi dacoits shot dead one person and abducted a school teacher when they raided the border village of Baligaon in Kamalpur subdivision in Dhalai district.
Police sources said the militants and criminals, clad in olive green fatigues, stormed the house of Sudhendu Nandi (38), a teacher of Kamalpur Boys School at 10.30 pm. They looted cash and valuables after snatching the keys from his wife. Nandi’s neighbour, Nitish Hom, heard noises and came out to help, but was shot dead by the gang. The militants abducted Nandi and fled across the border.
Sources said no one has been arrested as yet.
In a separate incident, using rockets for the first time in the state, two groups of the banned All Tripura Tiger Force attacked a CRPF camp and the battalion headquarters of Tripura State Rifles (TSR) in Jirania last night, police said, adds PTI. No casualty was reported.
Assam industries
The Export Promotion Industrial Park (EPIP), Amingaon, once showcased as the torch-bearer of industrialisation in the Northeast, is now groping in the dark, reports our Guwahati staff reporter.
Faced with growing power cuts, the conglomerate of 20 industries at the Amingaon industrial area near here has appealed to the state government for a review of the power scenario.
It has also demanded that, at least, 1 MW of power be reserved for the park and a direct line provided from the Shishugram sub-station.
