NLFT attack an exercise in revenge

AGARTALA, Feb 6 — The outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) militants attacked a Mog hamlet at Nalicherra in Dhalai last night and shot dead seven villagers, all tribals. Among the killed are two women. Four more were injured in the attack. According to reports reaching here from Ambassa, district headquarters, a group of about 25 militants first cordoned off the village market at West Nalicherra at around 6.25 pm last night and opened indiscriminate firing from their automatics. Most of the villagers who were sitting at the shop of one Changmung Mog were riddled with bullets. Six of them were killed on the spot while one died later in GB Hospital. As reported earlier only six tribals had been killed. The militants then set afire houses. Extreme tension and panic is prevailing in the area. Senior police personnel have rushed to the spot and a massive manhunt has been launched to hunt down the killers. It is believed that last night’s attack was committed to avenge the killing of two NLFT militants Haripada Malsum and Katicharan Malsum recently by TSR personnel at Shibbari area in the same district. This is the major attack of the NLFT militants in recent time. The last massacre was committed by the militants of Singicherra on January 13 in which 16 persons were killed and nine were injured. Meantime NLFT’s arch rival All Tripura Tiger Force has called Tripura bandh on February 16 next in protest against the “atrocities on tribals by police.”