On December 26, 2007, the Tripura Police chief, K. T. D. Singh, declared, "Terrorism in Tripura is under control". With only 39 militancy-related fatalities in 2007 and 79 incidents of insurgency-linked violence (till November 30), conditions in Tripura compared favourably with the various conflict-afflicted States in the country. Indeed, Tripura continues to reap the benefits of the extremely successful Police-led counter-insurgency strategy unveiled six years ago.
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007 (January-November)*
December**
TOTAL
79
NA
13
1
14
6
0
19
38
39
Available data indicated a decline in fatalities both among Security Forces (SFs) and the militants, while fatalities among civilians have remained at the 2006 level. The 22 per cent decline in total fatalities is principally due to the 57 per cent decline in losses in the SF ranks. Cases of abduction, however, registered an increase of 40 percent, but these are nowhere close to the figures that had made Tripura the abduction centre of the Northeast in the year 2000. 60 abductions were recorded in the State in 2007, compared to 43 such cases in 2006. Improved policing has considerably dented militant capacities to engage in extortion. Police sources indicate that both the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) have fallen short of their ‘financial targets’ by 60 to 70 percent.
The militancy, both of the Biswamohan Debbarma-led NLFT and the Ranjit Debbarma-led ATTF, however, are far from over. Despite the counter-insurgency successes, a significant number of militants continue to operate within the State. A senior Police official told SAIR that, at any point of time, close to 300 militants of different outfits, divided into small mobile groups of 8-10 militants, are dispersed across parts of the State. These groups, consisting of youth from poor tribal families, are trained in Bangladesh and then shifted into Tripura through the 120 kilometre unfenced portion of the 856 kilometre-long Tripura-Bangladesh border. Between 2004 and 2006, 5,317 families in the State had been forced to flee their homes and settle in safe areas as a result of militant threats.
Militant activities have been presently confined to two of Tripura’s four Districts: Dhalai and West. The unfenced international border in the Gandacherra sub-division of Dhalai District remains a major point of ingress from Bangladesh, and is likely to remain a problem at least till the end of 2008, when the fencing is expected to be completed. In addition, the distinct hilly topography of Dhalai District over 70 percent of its geographical spread makes the operations of the militants much easier and the task of the SFs daunting. Similarly, the Champahour, Sidhai and Jirania Police Stations in the West District remain affected by militant activities.
Despite the operational challenges, the SFs continued to secure significant success in countering the militants. In addition to the 19 militants killed through 2007, at least 150 militants have either been arrested or have surrendered. While the NLFT has suffered the most in terms of numerical loss of its cadres, three middle level ATTF leaders, Predesh Debbarma, Sonaicharan Debbarma and Purnab Debbarma, surrendered during the year. Another top ATTF ‘area commander’, Upayan Debbarma, was killed in an encounter on September 12, 2007, in the Tamakari area of the West District. Similarly, on February 24, a top NLFT ‘area commander’, Krishnadhan Debbarma, was killed during an encounter at Bablabari village in the West District. The continuing losses have rendered the militants almost incapable of planning attacks on the SFs. Barring the March 6, 2007, incident in which two Tripura State Rifles (TSR) personnel, Samir Choudhury and Aloke Das, were killed in an ATTF ambush at Binan Hazaripara under the Champahour Police Station of the West District, the remaining four SF personnel were killed (the total SF fatalities in 2007 were six) during encounters initiated by the SFs themselves.
To tide over the crippling losses, the Dhaka-based NLFT chief was reported to have held a ‘brain storming session’ of the outfit’s ‘commanders’ in a hideout across the Indo-Bangladesh border at Katacherra close to Raisyabari in the Dhalai District on May 17. Sources indicate that Biswamohan directed the ‘commanders’ to carry out attacks on TSR camps located in the interior areas. Only a single attack, however, actually took place following this directive. On August 27, a TSR trooper was killed in an NLFT attack at a worksite of the North East Frontier Railways (NFR) at Swapnabari under the Manu Police Station in the West District.
The unrelenting counter-insurgency campaign and the resulting operational infirmity of the militants has led to the forging of tactical alliances between the NLFT and ATTF, who now appear to be working in tandem, if not jointly. Indications to this effect were provided in an interview on September 29 by the Bangladesh-based ATTF chief Ranjit Debbarma, who spoke of the camaraderie between the two outfits: "The present leadership of NLFT is running the organization along correct lines. This has made it possible for us to work together. As of now our relations are very good."
The NLFT has also sought to revive the Borok National Council of Tripura (BNCT), a group that had emerged in 1997 and acted mostly as a collaborator of the NLFT. The BNCT, before passing into oblivion within two years of its origin, used to abduct non-tribal civilians and hand them over to the NLFT. The group was also involved in theft of cattle belonging to the non-tribals residing in the interior areas. In 2007, the NLFT is known to have recruited an unspecified number of tribal youth, mostly in the Dhalai and North Districts, into the BNCT. The relief camps of the Reang refugees and the Reang settlements in the interior areas of the North District were specifically targeted for this purpose. A recruitment drive was conducted between October and November 2007 in the Kanchanpur and Longtarai Valley area, and some 42 tribal youth were recruited from Mrityunjoypara, Sarbajoypara, Joymonipara and Bhandarima areas in the North District. The BNCT, whom a senior Police official described as the ‘junior wing’ of the NLFT, is currently engaged in extortion activities in the interior areas. The incidents involving the BNCT in 2007 included the following:
December 5: Four persons, including two drivers of private vehicles, were abducted by suspected BNCT militants at Kanchanpur in the North District. One driver managed to escape.
December 4: Three BNCT militants were arrested from the Laikhand area in the North District.
November 23: Two BNCT militants were arrested from Naising Para and Tulamani Para under Kanchanpur in the North District.
November 19: Three BNCT militants were arrested from a village under Kanchanpur Police Station in the North District.
September 27: Four BNCT cadres were arrested following an encounter between the NLFT militants and SFs at Patlongjoypara under Kanchanpur Police Station in the North District.
May 28: BNCT militants abducted two labourers from Chakbeha Choudhurypara under Manikpur Police Station in the Dhalai District.
March 8: BNCT militants abducted a school teacher, Shambujoy Tripura, from Durjoynagar under Manikpur Police Station.
For over a decade, camps and safe houses in Bangladesh’s Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) and Sylhet Districts have been critical for the survival of the militant outfits in Tripura. The declaration of Emergency in Bangladesh on January 11, 2007, and the prior installation of the Interim Administration notwithstanding, NLFT and ATTF militants have continued to find refuge in that country. The number of their camps, in the range of 50 in earlier years, has, however, declined to about 30, mostly as a result of SF operations along the Tripura-Bangladesh border areas, forcing the militants to close some of the camps in the proximity of the international border and to merge others. Refuge in Bangladesh has, nevertheless, continued to provide easy access to small arms and explosives, as well as a secure base and training areas, and remains a critical factor behind the survival of these militant groups.
The ruling Left-Front cadres/leaders, seen as the principal political architects of the half-decade-long counter-insurgency campaign, have traditionally been targeted by the NLFT. At least six such incidents took place in 2007:
December 31: A tribal Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader, Chandra Mohan Debbarma, was shot dead by two NLFT militants at Naksirai Para under Kalyanpur Police Station in the West District.
October 21: Nine CPI-M activists were assaulted by ATTF militants at Rambabu Bazaar under Khowai Police Station in the West District, for demanding a security camp at Rambabu Bazaar.
July 13: Mannya Kumar Tripura, a CPI-M leader, was abducted by the NLFT militants along with two Booth Level Officers (BLOs), while returning from Naisharampara under Chawmanu Assembly constituency in Dhalai District. The BLOs were released later.
February 8: A tribal CPI-M leader Ratansen Tripura was killed by the NLFT militants at his home in the Ratan Nagar village of Dhalai District. The militants, while fleeing, shot at and injured another CPI-M worker, Tanijay Tripura, near the Ratan Nagar Bridge in the same District.
January 8: CPI-M leader, Phalendra Reang, was abducted by NLFT militants at gun point from his residence at Ashapurnaroaja Para area in the Dhalai District. He was released after 39 days of captivity.
Ongoing infrastructure building projects in the remote areas have always been easy targets for extortion by the militants. The construction of rail tunnels in the Longtarai Valley and Atharamura Hills, for instance, is yet to be started as a result of the threat posed by the militants. On a number of occasions during the previous years, workers from these project areas have been abducted on non-payment of money by the militants. The provision of dedicated SF personnel for these projects has been a crucial component of the counter-insurgency policy of the Tripura Police, and this has led to a substantial decline in militant attacks, directly impacting on the rebels’ capacities to generate funds. In the lone incident of its nature, on August 27, a TSR trooper was killed during an attack by the NLFT militants at a NFR worksite at Swapnabari under the Manu Police Station limits in the West District.
The improved security situation in Tripura is reflected in the unveiling of several new projects backed by foreign investors. In June 2007, a Thai business delegation visited the State to explore the possibilities of investing in the energy, gas and agro-industries sector. The Japan Bank of International Cooperation has pledged a substantial investment for preservation of the green cover and employment generation in the State. Tripura also received an INR 1.12 billion grant from the German Government for implementation of a poverty alleviation programme through natural resources management.
The impending elections to the State Legislative Assembly on February 23, 2008, will create fresh challenges for the SFs. During previous elections, militants, especially those belonging to the NLFT, have used violence to influence the voting pattern, and such a scenario is not ruled out this time around. Intelligence reports have already indicated intensified militant movements in the interior areas of 27 reserved constituencies in the State. However, the enormously weakened militancy is not expected to create a serious challenge to the electioneering process as such, though the extremists’ acts of desperation could result in a temporary spike in casualties in the State.