Three Indian construction workers, who were abducted by an extremist group in the Indian state of Tripura, have returned home after Bangladeshi security forces helped their Indian counterparts to rescue the victims.
The workers are National Project Construction Corporation Ltd (NPCC) site supervisor Subhash Bhowmik, JCB driver Subal Debnath and worker leader Ganapati Tripura.
According to a report of the Jagaran, a daily newspaper in Tripura, the friendly relations between the two countries have become stronger through the successful rescue operation.
Sources in the Tripura police said the search operation by Tripura police and security forces since the abduction put a lot of pressure on the abductors while the search operation conducted by Bangladeshi security forces helped the abductees return home.
The workers reached the DP Para BSF outpost under Gandachhara Police Station in Dhalai district in Tripura after being released from the clutches of extremists on Wednesday, 16 days after they were kidnapped.
On December 8, armed members of National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) extremists abducted them when they went to fetch water from a stream in the area between Malda Kumar Royajapara and Hariyamuni Para under Ganganagar police station in Dhalai district.
According to the report, the abducted workers were engaged in the construction of barbed wire fences on the Indo-Bangladesh border. Their co-workers informed BSF officials of their going missing.
According to locals, seven banned NLFT operatives armed with weapons abducted the workers. Five of them came down from the top of the hill and abducted the workers at gunpoint, they said.
Police arrested Pathan Mohan Tripura, Jatindra Tripura and Vaijay Tripura, associates of extremists, from Maldapara under Ganganagar police station in connection with the abduction.
Another Jagaran report said Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb had sought cooperation from Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and the security forces to rescue the workers.
According to the newspaper, the Bangladesh government has made an outstanding contribution to the suppression of extremism in Tripura in the past as well.
The report mentioned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy against any militancy and extremism.
It said the Bangladesh prime minister subdued all the extremists in her country. During her relentless campaign against extremism, the militants were forced to return to normal life, it added.
The report said Bangladesh once again, has extended a helping hand to Tripura to destroy the rise of extremism.
Bangladesh, under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, earlier handed over Indian separatist leaders who were hiding in Bangladesh. She also made it clear that none will be allowed to use Bangladesh soil against India.
“Bangladesh again extended a helping hand like an absolute useful friend,” the newspaper said.