NE ultras using Mizoram as corridor to Bangladesh: DGP

Agartala, Nov 4 (UNI) Militants in the North East have shifted their headquarters to Aizawl, capital of Mizoram, as it helped their transit to and from Bangladesh, Tripura DGP G M Srivastava said.

''All the militants of the region had shifted base from Shillong in Meghalaya to Aizawl and were getting help from some former leaders of the Mizoram-based rebel outfit Mizo National Front,'' the Director General of Police said in an interview to a Guwahati based private TV channel recently.

''The banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) are getting help from various underground outfits of NE and Bangladesh, besides Mizoram,'' the DGP pointed out.

Following the arrest of a number of ultras in Tripura, including Meghalaya and Manipur based ones, it was revealed that the rebels were using Mizoram as a corridor for commuting to and from Bangladesh, he said.

''A few months ago two Tripura based militants were captured in Aizawl but the Mizoram police, instead of handing them over to their Tripura counterparts, released them despite the latter demanded handing over of the arrested ultras,'' Mr Srivastava rued.

The DGP agreed with Chief Minister Manik Sarkar's opinion that to face insurgents, security forces should change their strategy, ''That is always reviewed and it is necessary to combat militancy,'' he observed.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretariat member Gautam Das, in another interview to the channel, alleged that the recent attacks on the security forces in the state was done in connivance with anti-Left Front forces as the assembly elections were nearing.

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