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Tripura awaits Centre's nod to anti-insurgent operation

The Tripura government has sent an action plan for combating insurgency to the Centre for approval, Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said Tuesday.

He said 1,254 people were kidnapped by tribal guerrillas in the last six years. Of them about 105 were killed, 119 remains missing while 1,030 people were set free.

The state government has taken steps to provide jobs and financial assistance to those persons whose family members were killed or kidnapped by militants, or remained missing even after two years.

According to Sarkar, the strength of the two banned outfits - the All Tripura Tiger Force and National Liberation Front of Tripura -- along with their collaborators would be about 669. Between them, the two had 11 associate outfits, including the Tripura Tribal Youth Force, Tribal Commando Force, Social Democratic Force of Tripura, National Militia Force, Tripura Mukti Police and Tripura Tribal Armed Commando Force.

The chief minister said his cabinet had agreed to the Union government's draft surrender cum rehabilitation scheme.

The state government received some surrender proposals from extremists and those were under active consideration.

Sarkar said the state government has formed five Tripura State Rifles battalions. It required financial assistance from the Centre to constitute two more such battalions.

He ruled out the demand to extend the Disturbed Areas Act, which is in force in 27 of the state's 45 police station areas.

For modernisation of the state police forces, the Union government had so far sanctioned Rs 69 million. With the central and state share, Rs 76.8 million had been spent for the purpose. A state government official team is now in Delhi to take assistance for the schemes, he added.

UNI

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