'Launch military crackdown on Indian insurgents'

Shillong, Mar 13: India has demanded immediate handing over of wanted Indian insurgents hiding in Bangladesh and dismantling of all terrorist camps in its soil. ''We have asked the Bangladesh Rifles to trace the Indian insurgents by launching a military crackdown on their hideouts and camps and deport them to India,'' Inspector General of BSF in-charge (Assam-Meghalaya) Frontier P K Mishra told reporters here.

The BSF had handed a over a list of 141 camps of militant groups and leaders colling heels in specific locations in Bangladesh during the four-day biennial conference of BSF and BDR officials here. BDR Deputy Director General Brigadier General M A Bari led the ten-member BDR team, while the BSF delegation was headed by Mr Mishra.

''We have given a list of 141 camps of insurgent groups operating in Bangladesh along with the names of 116 rebel leaders and their 198 sympathisers and asked for help to dismantle the camps,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the BDR has handed over the names of 21 anti Bangladesh movement organizations and 1591 Bangladeshi miscreants who were allegedly hiding in India.

However, the Bangladesh government has repeatedly denied any presence of Indian insurgents within its territory, despite New Delhi's several submitting of fresh list of militant's camps and hideouts belonging to ULFA, NSCN (IM), NDFB, UNLF, PLA, KLO, KYKL, and NLFT set up in Bangladesh.

''This time, our Bangladesh counterparts were out of words when we took up the matter, especially after we pointed specific names, locations of camps and hideouts of Indian insuregents in Bangladesh,'' Mr Mishra said.

The BSF official said that enough evidence had been provided to the BDR officials, citing the confession of surrendered Chairman of the Hynniewtrep National Liberation Council Julius Dorphang in Shillong about the presence of insurgent camps in Bangladesh.

''Last year, they had raided an ULFA camp in Balaghat, where is that Assamese man now. They cannot avoid us like this every time,'' Mr Mishra said.

On September 13 last year Bangladesh authorities had seized 42,000 of ammunition and RDX from an ULFA cadre based in Bangladesh.

Mr Mishra said the meeting also discussed elaborately various problems on the border of the two countries, including infiltration, smuggling and the terrorist activities.

The issue of fencing the border with barbed wire, round the clock patrolling on both sides and regular interaction between the countries for normalising the tension on the border were also discussed at the meeting.

UNI