Senior commander of outlawed outfit NLFT surrenders before BSF in Tripura

Agartala: Tripura Police and Border Security Force's collective efforts to bring misguided youth back from insurgency turned fruitful as one senior cadre of outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) laid down arms before the BSF on Monday. Jaiba Kaloi aka Litan Jamatia alias Chalai joined the mainstream in the presence of the BSF Inspector General at the frontier headquarter Shalbagan.

According to IG BSF Tripura frontier Sushanta Kumar Nath, he was holding the rank of a lieutenant in the NLFT's Biswa Mohan faction and was holding a commanding position. Nath said, "Many NLFT militants surrendered in the recent past that indicates their eagerness to renounce the path of violence and join the mainstream. A total of five insurgents of NLFT (BM) had surrendered before BSF Tripura in 2017, followed by 12 insurgents in 2018, three in 2019 and three in 2020. In the last three years altogether 23 active insurgents left the path of violence after they found there is no future in it."

The IG also added that the BSF is steps to ensure that people like Kaloi, who were misguided by vested interests, come forward and start leading a peaceful life like others. Jaiba Kaloi reportedly joined the NLFT (BM) in 1998 and continued to serve as an active member of the group till his surrender. His name is listed as an active cadre of NLFT (BM) as per the list published by the Tripura government.

Life as a militant robbed off his contact with his family. Jaiba Kaloi's mother broke into tears when she embraced her son after 23 long years. "I thought he was lost forever. I spent countless sleepless nights. After decades of wait, I have reunited with my child, who left me at a very tender age. I can't explain in words the emotional situation I am in," she said.