LOK SABHA ELECTION

Vigil on ultra forces in Cooch Behar

COOCH BEHAR, March 9: The recent change of power in Bangladesh emerged as a problem to the militant organisations of northeast region that are camped inside Bangladesh. They are now shifting their base from Bangladesh and started moving to other neighbouring countries like Bhutan and Nepal. The intelligence agencies too are keeping watch on the movement of the ultra outfits active in this region.

Apprehending the bid of militants to move from Bangladesh to Bhutan and Nepal through Indian territory, police patrolling in Dinhata and other bordering areas have been beefed up. Human sources of intelligence agencies are also being pressed into service to collect information on the future plans of the militant outfits.

Intelligence agencies also came to know that the outfits like Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and Maoists were trying to build up their organisational bases in Cooch Behar district and adjoining areas. Recent arrest of a hardcore Maoist activist revealed that they are active here and trying to recruit new ones to their organisation to widen it. Already about three persons joined the Maoists from Cooch Behar-Jalpaiguri district border areas, intelligence sources said. But, it is hard for the Maoists to establish a strong base here like other underdeveloped areas because the society here is multidimensional, a senior police official said.  

Three trained KLO activists have been arrested in the past three months from West Bengal-Assam border area in Tufanganj. They came from Dhubri in Assam. It is believed that the KLO conducted training camps in Bangladesh till recent change happened there. They had to shift to Bangladesh after the Operation Flushout that was conducted at Bhutan Hills a few years back. Trained activists upto 8-th batch were arrested but in the next phase two more batches took training in camps situated in Bangladesh. No one of the recent batches were however arrested till now, police sources admitted.

As the Lok Sabha election is on the corner the police are keeping close watch on the movement of the members of the militant outfits though no specific threat came yet from their end. When asked, the Cooch Behar SP Mr Devendra Prakash Singh said, "We are not in a mood to take any chance over security as we want to maintain peace during the election procedure."