ULFA training Tripura rebels in Bangladesh, say former militants

Agartala, Jan 5 (IANS) Four top tribal separatist leaders, who surrendered before authorities in Tripura, revealed they were trained by the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) in Bangladesh, officials said Monday.

A police spokesman said the four militants, two of them women, of the outlawed All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), surrendered before the police late Sunday.

ATTF leader M. Debbarma and Royal Debbarma and their wives fled from their camps at Satchari in Sylhet district of Bangladesh last week and surrendered after entering the Indian territory, the spokesman said.

'The ATTF leaders, who were carrying rewards of Rs. 250,000 each on their heads and even had Interpol arrest warrants against them for a series of violent crimes, told the police that ULFA leaders gave them training in Bangladesh and both the outfits have been working in cooperation,' the spokesman said.