Agartala, Oct 14: A combing operation has been launched to track down insurgents of banned All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), who triggered a landmine blast killing three CRPF jawans and a civilian on Assam-Agartala National Highway in West Tripura district, police said today. The joint combing operation by Assam Rifles, CRPF and Tripura State Rifles (TSR) was still going on in Nailafa Bari area of the district but no one has been arrested so far, they said. However, during the search a wireless set, several pieces of battery, electric wire used for the blast were recovered from the roadside bush from where the ATTF ultras are suspected to have triggered the blast through remote control device, police added.
Chawba, a mouthpiece of the ATTF insurgents, was also recovered during the search operation, they said. Three CRPF jawans and driver of their hired vehicle were killed when the ATTF insurgents triggered the blast yesterday.
Police said security was beefed up along National Highway 44 anticipating further trouble by the ATTF insurgents on the eve of ultras' call to observe October 15, the day on which the tiny princely state of Tripura merged with the Indian union in 1949, as a 'black day'. Bureau Report