Manipuri rebels held near Agartala

AGARTALA: Police have arrested two Meitei militants belonging to the Manipur-based Kangleipak Communist party (KCP) on the outskirts of the city. Acting on a tip-off, personnel from the East Agartala police station raided the house of Damayanti Pal at Jogendranagara on Monday and caught Nangam Subed Maitei (35) alias Rubel alias Sumit and Hirojit Singh (26). "Police found 13 mobile handsets, nine SIM cards, two laptops, a digital camera and some incriminating papers on them," a police official said, adding that the duo was hiding in the area for eight months. Sources said police were trying to find out their antecedants, but refused to divulge details. Officials said Manipur police had been alerted and a team of cops from Imphal was likely to arrive here soon to interrogate the two KCP militants. They might also seek transit remand for them. Tripura had always been a favorued corridor for Manipuri militants to sneak into Manipur from their hideouts in Bangladeh. In the past, several Meitei militants belonging to outfits such as the PLA, the UNLF, the PREPAK and the KCP have been arrested from various areas in Tripura. In mid and late Eighties, the militants used Kailasahar and Dharmanagar in North Tripura to cross over to Imphal from Bangladesh.