By IANS,
Agartala : Conspiracies are still on to destabilise and dislodge the Left Front governments in Tripura and West Bengal, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said here Friday, reacting to 1995 Purulia arms drop case accused Kim Davy’s disclosures.
Sarkar told reporters: “In 1988, it was a deep-rooted conspiracy to dislodge the Left Front government in Tripura. It was known to everybody. Now again it was proved following Kim Davy’s confession.”
In a sensational claim, Kim Davy told a TV news channel Thursday that the “Indian government had planned the arms drop in collaboration with British intelligence to destabilise the then Communist government” in West Bengal.
“In 1988 centre introduced presidential rule in Tripura after engaging in supplying arms to different rebel groups there. The same strategy was announced publically in the beginning of the ’90s that there was a decision to introduce presidential rule in West Bengal and, therefore, it was seen as a furthering of this agenda that arms were procured to protect local people,” Davy said in an interview to the Times Now TV channel, a release issued by the channel said.
The then union government had Jan 29, 1988, promulgated the Disturbed Areas Act in Tripura under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act of 1958 (AFSPA), not president’s rule, and deployed army and central para-military forces after erstwhile separatist outfit Tripura National Volunteers (TNV) killed 105 civilians within a week.
“Though the law and order is a state subject, the then union government headed by Rajiv Gandhi had unilaterally enforced the Disturbed Areas Act without any consultation with the erstwhile Left Front government headed by Nripen Chakraborty,” Sarkar said.
He said that before promulgation of the Disturbed Areas Act the law and order situation was destabilised by killing many people and creating divisions among the tribals and non-tribals.
Sarkar said: “Every conspiracy has been explained in the letters of former Congress chief minister Sudhir Majumder to militant outfit TNV.”
“Only to dislodge the then Left Front government in 1988, as many as 12 Congress central ministers had stationed in Tripura. Though the activities of militant outfits have largely been controlled, the terrorists and their sponsors are still active against the Left Front government in Tripura,” Sarkar added.
A large consignment of arms, including several hundred AK-47 rifles, anti-tank weapons and ammunition were dropped from a Latvian aircraft in West Bengal’s Purulia district on the night of Dec 17, 1995.
Five Lativian citizens and British arms dealer Peter Bleach were arrested, but Kim Davy managed to escape. The arrested were tried in courts and sentenced to life terms, but eventually let out. Peter Bleach was granted the presidential pardon on completion of seven years in jail..