11 jawans shot dead in NLFT ambush

AGARTALA, March 21: Outlawed National Liberation Front of Twipra militants gunned down four BSF jawans and seven General Reserve Engineering Force (GREF) personnel in a daring ambush in the remote Moracherra area in North Tripura district this morning. Sources said 14 people were injured in the incident, including five jawans of the BSF's 27th battalion. The militants took away a light machine gun, a mortar and a wireless set from the security forces. The injured have been rushed to G.B. Hospital in Agartala. Three of them are in a critical condition. Sources said a large group of NLFT rebels ambushed two BSF vehicles escorting a truckload of GREF workers and technical personnel from Kalitilla border outpost to Reang Basti under Fatikroy police station at 8.30 am today. The BSF jawans trapped inside the vehicles failed to retaliate as they came under heavy fire from sophisticated weapons. Four BSF jawans and seven GREF men died on the spot, the sources added. Sources said only eight victims have been identified. They are Bhagyaram Rava, Giri Gopal and Kshitish Sarkar of the BSF and sub-inspector K. Acharjee, overseer Shyamal Babu and labourers Raj Kumar Munda, Manik Deb and Shibnath Debbarma of the GREF. Sources said the rebels were reportedly led by NLFT commander Tapan Koloi. The militants escaped to their Burunji Basti hideout in Sylhet district of Bangladesh which is just two km away from the site of the ambush. A large contingent of police force, led by deputy inspector-general (range) A.K. Shukla, have rushed to the spot and launched a search. There are no reports of any arrests. Inspector-general of police (law and order) K. Salim Ali said the search operation will continue and all efforts will be made to prevent more attacks by the NLFT. Altogether 102 people, including 15 security personnel, have been killed by militants this year. The figure includes recovery of 30 bodies of people who were abducted and killed by militants. On March 3 this year, NLFT rebels have gunned down 11 CRPF personnel and snatched away a number of sophisticated weapons in an ambush in Bampur under Birganj police station in South Tripura district.