NLFT using Bru from relief camps to abduct people: minister

Mizoram Home Minister R Lalzirliana today said that the National Liberation Front of Tripura recruited 15 to 20 Bru from the relief camps in north Tripura and used them to abduct people for ransom.
The minister told the Mizoram Assembly that the same group was responsible for the kidnapping of five people from Dampa Tiger Reserve on February 19.
Lalzirliana said that the Bru's group was used by the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) as a front to earn money while operating from Bangladesh.
While some people who could contact the NLFT militants were used to negotiate the safe release of the five hostages, the state government was handicapped to send police commandos to storm the militants' hideout as the captives were held inside a foreign country, he said.

He said that the Ministry of External Affairs was asked to take up the issue with the Bangladesh government and all-out efforts were made to secure the release of the hostages.
He thanked the NGOs and the media in the state for their contributions to ensure that no communal problem arose due to the incident.