Rebels beat up council member, snatch arms

AGARTALA, July 24: Suspected All-Tripura Tiger Force militants attacked Autonomous District Council member Budhu Debbarma and three of his aides at Chebri in Tripura's Khowai sub-division yesterday. Another group of militants abducted two traders from Samcherra near Dharmanagar town in North Tripura. Police sources said Debbarma, who is from the Indigenous People's Front of Tripura, was heading for Tulasikhar from his home constituency of Champahaor when a group of rebels waylaid his vehicle. The Tiger Force rebels took Debbarma and his three aides, including his guard, to a nearby jungle and beat them up, the sources said. The militants fled after snatching a service revolver from the autonomous council member's guard. Debbarma had gone to his constituency to meet the persons injured in an attack by United Bengali Liberation Front militants on Saturday. Prior to his visit, a mob had gheraoed the additional subdivisional officer and the block development officer of Khowai in protest against lack of security in the area. Twelve tribals were seriously injured in the bomb attack by the UBLF near Chebri on Saturday. The incident led to clashes between tribals and non-tribals in the area. Several tribal families fled their homes in apprehension of violence. In another incident, the police recovered the body of a non-tribal youth from east Jambura village under Khowai police station yesterday. The slain youth, identified as 17-year-old Subal Debnath, had been abducted from his house at east Ganki last week. Two more persons, both traders, were taken hostage by militants yesterday. While Babul Saha was abducted from a jeep heading towards Datanbari from Tirthamukh, Jyotirmoy Chakraborty was whisked away from his house at Jamcherra near Dharmanagar town.