Former militants threaten indefinite rail-road blockade in Tripura from Wednesday

Agartala, Jun 23 (PTI) Two organisations of surrendered militants in Tripura have called an indefinite rail and road blockade from Wednesday, pressing for a nine-point charter of demands, including proper rehabilitation and withdrawal of pending cases against them. The Joint Action Rehabilitation Committee (JARC) and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) announced the agitation after alleging that a large number of surrendered militants were yet to receive rehabilitation benefits despite laying down arms decades ago. "Following appeals from the Centre and the state government, around 15,000 militants of various banned organisations have surrendered since 1978. While some have been rehabilitated, the majority are still awaiting the benefits promised to them," JARC-JAC convener Jibanjoy Reang told reporters. He said many former militants were struggling to support their families and that criminal cases remained pending against several cadres despite their surrender. "We surrendered to lead a normal life, but even after more than three decades, many of our members have not been rehabilitated. Pending cases against many cadres have also not been withdrawn," he said. Reang said the organisations had submitted a memorandum and a nine-point charter of demands to Chief Minister Manik Saha, giving the government a week to respond. "We also highlighted our concerns before Tribal Welfare Minister Bikash Debbarma, but no concrete outcome has emerged. Therefore, we have decided to begin an indefinite rail-road blockade from Wednesday," he said. Earlier this month, former militants belonging to the outlawed National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) and All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) had withdrawn a similar rail and highway blockade call after receiving assurances from the chief minister. PTI PS SOM