Agartala, March 11: Bangladesh police have arrested two activists of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) from the Cox’s Bazar port area in Chittagong district recently. The rebels were carrying AK-47 assault rifles and ammunition.

Sources said villagers spotted two tribal youths moving round suspiciously on the beach on March 6 and challenged them. When they tried to flee they were apprehended and handed over to the police. .

Families displaced: The NLFT militants have displaced 450 tribal families from the Krishnapur tribal constituency in Khowai subdivision since the declaration of the Assembly poll results on March 1.

During the run-up to the polls, the militants had issued a directive to the voters exhorting them to vote for the Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura candidate Shabda Kumar Jamatya. However, CPM candidate Khagendra Jamatya retained the seat with a comfortable margin.

This angered the NLFT, which launched an offensive in the area, forcing the CPM supporters to flee their houses.