Tripura asks Assam police to investigate missing

Agartala, Oct 26 (UNI) Tripura police today asked its Assam counterpart to investigate the missing case of 37 children from Bru Refugee camps in North Tripura a few months back.

According to a report, as many as 37 children of Reang tribal clan of Mizoram, presently residing in six different refugee camps of Tripura, went missing early this year after some miscreants lured them with promises of better education outside the state.

The victims' families alleged that an Assam government employee posted at Hailakandi District Collector office had taken the children from poor socio-economic conditions with an assurance of better education.

However, recently the families learnt that none of the children was sent to any school and were reportedly engaged as child labourers in Meghalaya, Assam, Nagaland and Mizoram.

Police also said the Assam police in Hailakandi district had also received complaints of 14 minors missing from tribal dominated Reang in South Assam.

Mizoram Bru Displaced People's Forum (MBDPF) president Elvis Chorkhy admitted the allegation and stated that the matter came to notice only when eight of the missing children returned to the camps.

About 35,000 Reang tribals have been sheltering in six camps in North Tripura and leading a miserable life for the past one decade following ethnic clashes with the majority Mizos in west Mizoram.

UNI