Agartala, Feb. 16: The Biswamohan Debbarma faction of the National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT) has written to the Union home ministry seeking peace talks.

Highly-placed intelligence sources here said the letter from NLFT chief Biswamohan Debbarma had reached the Union home ministry in Delhi and the matter was under consideration.

Sources said Union home minister Rajnath Singh's visit to Tripura on Saturday was significant in this regard. While visiting Kanchanpur subdivision to interact with Reang refugees, he had also visited the BSF border outpost at Khantlang.

"Following a large-scale crackdown on militants with hideouts in Bangladesh by the Bangladesh government since the Awami League led by Sheikh Hasina assumed power in 2009, the Tripura-based All Tripura Tiger Force was forced to completely wind up. The Bangladesh security forces captured a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the outfit's hideout in the Sacherri jungles under Habiganj district. The National Liberation Front of Tripura was also on the run but it had shifted some of its hideouts to Myanmar and in areas close to Mizoram and Tripura," sources said.

They added that there was no evidence of any direct contact between the Union home ministry and the NLFT leadership but Rajnath Singh had discussed the militancy issue with Tripura chief minister Manik Sarkar.

They had harped on Tripura-based militants enjoying sanctuary in Bangladesh.

Singh had assured the chief minister that the central government would do everything possible to check insurgency.

"Without the state government's knowledge, the Centre cannot reach an understanding with the NLFT. So ultimately the state government and the chief minister will have to be brought into the loop," said a source.

Describing the NLFT's position as "untenable", sources said the outfit, formed in April 1989, had commenced operations since late 1991 through a raid on the Tuinani police outpost in Gomati district.

However, its activities, particularly extortion from impoverished tribals, torture of women and forcible conversions had antagonised the indigenous people.

"'The group had suffered the first major setback in January 2001 as its commander Nayanbasi Jamatya walked out with a large number of followers and large cache of arms and ammunition. Then came the second split within a year as commander Jogendra Debbarma, alias Joshua, walked out. Security forces launched large-scale operations after being given a free hand under the leadership of directors-general of police B.L. Vohra and G.M Srivastava. This, coupled with lack of support among the tribal people, made the NLFT irrelevant," a source said.

The Bangladesh government's hostility and efforts to drive them out had left the NLFT no option but to seek an honourable settlement through surrender. "Many of them have already surrendered or deserted the group," a source said.