Agartala, June 22: The banned Biswamohan faction of the National Liberation Front of Tripura has demanded a ransom of Rs 60 lakh for releasing 24 hostages. Twenty-three small traders were abducted on June 14 from Quairi area under Vangmun police station in Kanchanpur subdivision of north Tripura.
A group of 25 heavily-armed NLFT militants had stopped two vehicles carrying 60 passengers at 6.30 am on that day. The vehicles were going towards Kawanpui on the occasion of market day at the trijunction of Tripura, Bangladesh and Mizoram.
The militants had selected 24 non-tribals, including the drivers of the vehicles, and whisked them away across the border to the Jupui area under Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh.
The NLFT (Biswamohan) group had initially denied having abducted the traders. However, two letters were delivered yesterday to the block development officer and the president of the traders’ association in Dashda. This is the area from which the traders had started out.
The note sent by the NLFT demanded Rs 60 lakh as ransom along with five tonnes of rice, medicines and various other items, such as jungle boots, by the end of the month. The letters hinted that unless the ransom was paid on time, the hostages would be killed.
The ransom note has triggered panic in Dashda and neighbouring areas of Kanchanpur subdivision as the families of small traders would not be able to pay the amount.