1,124 suspected terrorists nabbed in Tripura in ten days

Agartala, Aug 14 (UNI) Altogether 1,124 people including nine Bangladeshi nationals were arrested in different parts of Tripura in last ten days during an operation aimed at peaceful celebration of Independence Day tomorrow.

Police said today besides arresting the suspected anti-national activists, small arms and other incriminating documents were recovered from their possessions in a few cases.

Last night, a Bangladeshi national, identified as Selim Uddin (20) of Cox Bazar area of Southern Bangladesh, was nabbed from a hotel in Agartala and Rs 8,500 as well as a tele-index book had been recovered from his room, the sources added.

Acting on a tip-off, East Agartala police stormed a hotel in Maharajganj Bazar of the city and arrested him, said DIG (Operation) Nepal Das adding initially he claimed himself to be a resident of North Tripura but the references were found false.

'' We are interrogating Selim now and initial investigation established that he had some ill intension to cross the border without a valid passport and visa. His link with the Bangladesh based Harkat-Ul-Jihad-Islami (HUJI) terrorist outfit cannot be ruled out,'' Mr Das said.

He had also informed that seven other Bangladeshi nationals were arrested from Pitra area of isolated location of South Tripura on Sunday last, who had been lodging in a rented house for the past few months, concealing their identity.

Three small arms and live ammunition were recovered from various locations of the state during the past week and one point 22 revolver was also recovered from Indo-Bangladesh border at Ramnagar yesterday, Mr Das added.

He underscored that in the wake of possible militant strike, security measures in Tripura had already been tightened to ensure peaceful celebrations of Independence Day and the Quick Reaction Teams (QRT) were pressed into action, in this regard.

It was reported that a group of militants armed with Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) have entered into Sabroom in South Tripura district through Khagracherri (Bangladesh) border recently as the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) intensified operations against anti-Indian elements.

According to intelligence sources, more groups were trying to sneak into Indian Territory from across the border and the BSF authorities were asked to maintain strict vigil along the international border in Sabroom subdivision.

As in previous years, nine banned ultras outfits of the northeastern region have reportedly called for the boycott of the Independence Day celebration on August 15 to protest Indian establishment.

The militant organisations, active in Assam, Tripura, Manipur and Meghalaya, have called for a 17-hour general strike tomorrow.

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