Militant decamps from Bangladesh to surrender in northeastern India

Reuters - Militant belonging to a banned separatist outfit in northeastern India surrendered to the Border Security Force, on Saturday (March 23), in the remote district of Dhalai in Tripura state. The militant identified as Sachindra Reang, 47, decamped from Chittagong Hill Tract in southeastern Bangladesh and belonged to National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) - a nationalist outfit that aims to secede Tripura state from India and is designated as a militant organisation in the country. After the fall of the Communist government in Tripura in 2018, the new government revised the surrender schemes for militants with raising monthly stipend and one-time grant and giving more opportunities for their rehabilitation. Deputy Inspector General of the Border Security Force in the region, who oversaw the surrender of Reang, said that with the new schemes in place, many cadres are coming forward to the security forces. Appreciating the returns, he added that so far, six insurgents from NLFT have surrendered. NLFT was found in 1989 with the patronage of Baptist Church of Tripura. Hundreds of deaths of Bengali Hindus and local tribes were reported from the activities of NLFT since its inception.