3 construction workers kidnapped by suspected NLFT workers

Agartala, Dec 08: Suspected insurgents of the banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) have kidnapped three construction workers from a village near the Indo-Bangla border in Dhalai district, police said on Tuesday.

The workers were engaged by NBCC for the erection of border fencing in the Maldapara village under Ganganagar police station of the district, about 140 km from here.

The kidnapped persons were identified as Subhash Bhowmik, JCB driver, Subal Debnath and Ganapati Tripura.

Police said a group of six insurgents armed with automatic weapons raided the construction site bordering Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) of the neighbouring country and took the three workers to Bangladesh on Monday.

Immediately after receiving the news of the kidnapping, Superintendent of Police, Kishore Debbarma rushed to the spot with a huge contingent of police and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) and launched a search operation in the area.

In another incident, a 35-year-old trader, identified as Litan Nath was kidnapped at gunpoint on November 27 by suspected NLFT insurgents from Joyrampara, a remote tribal village along the Tripura-Mizoram inter-state border in North Tripura district, police said.

The ultras have demanded Rs 1.5 lakh as ransom for his release, they said.

Tripura Police and Mizoram Police have jointly launched a search operation to rescue the kidnapped trader.

The opposition CPI(M) in a statement condemned the incident and alleged that a BSF camp is situated within 200 metres of the border, but still, the persons were kidnapped.