Agartala, May 21 (IANS) Three militants who had fled from their hideout in Bangladesh along with two CPI-M leaders, who were kidnapped April 1 from Tripura, have surrendered to the security forces, officials said Tuesday.
"Three NLFT (National Liberation Front of Tripura) extremists aged around 30 years to 45, surrendered to the security forces at Gandachara (in northern Tripura) Monday night. They came to the officials of Assam Rifles and police along with two hostages," a police spokesman told reporters.
"The three NLFT militants along with the hostages have fled from their hideout at Myani reserve forest in Chittagong Hill Tracts (in southeast Bangladesh) Sunday night and crossed the border before surrendering to the security officials," he said.
The rebels also surrendered some arms, ammunition and incriminating documents to the security forces at the border village of Gandachara, 190 km north of here.
The NLFT militants had abducted at gun-point Chakmapara woman village head Bakyarung Tripura, 32, and local leader Debendra Tripura, 31, on April 1 and taken them to the nearby Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) in Bangladesh.
Both the tribal leaders belong to the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M).
According to the police and the Border Security Force, there are several camps and hideouts of militants from northeast India in Chittagong Hill Tracts in Bangladesh.
Senior police officials have been interrogating the surrendered militants and tribal leaders to get details about the separatist outfits and their cadres taking shelter in Bangladeshi territory.
Tripura's two banned militant outfits, the NLFT and All Tripura Tiger Force have set up bases in Bangladesh and got support from other separatist outfits of the northeastern region.
They have been demanding secession of Tripura from India.
Tripura shares an 856-km border with Bangladesh, some of it unfenced and running through dense forests, making it porous and vulnerable.
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