AGARTALA, December 13 (TIWN): Border Security Force (BSF) has asked its Bangladeshi counterparts to destroy militants' camps and hideouts within the Bangladesh territory, said Inspector General of BSF Tripura Frontier B.N. Sharma. Taking to TIWN today, BSF IG said that around 32 camps and hideouts of Northeast India militant groups still exist in different parts of Bangladesh. BSF asked the BGB ( Border Guard Bangladesh) to dismantle these camps and to take action against the terrorists. He said the terrorist outfits of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Manipur and Nagaland have set up their camps and hideouts in different parts of Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) (in southeast Bangladesh) and Moulvibazar and Sylhet districts (under Sylhet division in northeastern Bangladesh).

These outfits include National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Isak-Muivah), United Liberation Front of Asom, National Liberation Front of Tripura and Garo National Liberation Army, BSF IG mentioned.Of the total 32 militant camps, 21 camps are mostly used by banned outfits National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), he added.

Most of these hideouts are concentrated at Chittagong Hill Track (CHT) in the neighboring country Bangladesh. The insurgents were using Tripura-Mizoram-Bangladesh tri-junction as corridor, security agencies including Assam Riffles and Tripura State Riffles (TSR) have been trying hard to stop infiltration of militants from across the border, the IG further mentioned.

"After Bangladesh security forces undertook occasional crackdowns against the northeast India militants, some terrorists have taken shelter in the jungles of neighbouring Myanmar," he added. 

During the past few months, the Bangladesh Rapid Action Battalion uncovered a huge cache of sophisticated arms, including anti-tank weapons and AK series rifles, in Satchharhi jungles in the northeastern district of Habiganj, bordering India's Tripura.

"Bangladesh security forces in the recent past have seized huge fake Indian currencies' consignments and arrested a large number of people involved in circulating the fake Indian currencies. BSF has also requested the BGB to share the information (with BSF) gathered about the fake currencies and their roots," BSF IG mentioned. 

He further mentioned that at present BSF not aware of any information about the encounter in which eight militants were killed by the Bangladesh security force at Naraicherra close to Segunbagan in Chittagong Hill Track of Bangladesh on the December 1 last. But only we can confirm that the Bangladesh security force is conducting operations in the Chittagong Hill Track of Bangladesh against the militants, he mentioned.

A total of 64 Border Out Post (BOP) are present in the state. Out of the 64 Border Out Post (BOP) 22 BOP are in operation at present, he added. The remaining 42 BOP will become operational soon, he added.   

Four Indian northeastern states of Tripura, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Assam share an 1,880-km border with Bangladesh. The mountainous terrain, dense forests and other hindrances make the unfenced borders porous and vulnerable, enabling illegal immigrants and intruders cross over without any hurdle. 
India is erecting a fence and putting up floodlights along the 4,096-km India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal, Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram to check trans-border movement of militants, and to check border crimes.

Recently NLFT killed 55 bn BSF Jawan Biswas Kumar ( 26 yrs old) at Ambassa subdivision Malda Para Border area.

The recent upsurge in NLFT activity should be treated as alarm bells by an complacent Tripura government. Though the recent kidnapping by the NLFT has been in Mizoram, the Tripura government can ignore the spurt only at Tripura's peril.

NLFT self-styled foreign secretary Utpal Debbarma was out on bail recently. Debbarma was arrested from Aizawl way back in 2011 by jawans of the Assam Rifles and SIB sleuths. He was charged with sedition and illegal possession of arms. The release of top-ranking rebel leader has set an alarm bell among the security agencies including Assam Rifles and Subsidiary Intelligence Branch (SIB). Utpal Debbarma a dropout student from the erstwhile Tripura Engineering College (TEC) joined the NLFT and was soon lifted to the position of ‘foreign secretary’.

The real cause for NLFT or any other Tripura insurgent group taking off big time is because of the zero tolerance of Hasina's government and the pressure exerted on the security forces in our neighbouring country by the political leadership to hit out at the rebels , be they from ethnic militant groups of India's Northeast or local Islamist radicals.  That is why the Islamist radicals are fleeing to West Bengal where they get all the sanctuary and support they need to thrive. Moment this pressure is gone, the NLFT will be able to revive itself again.

But remote regions of Chittagong Hill Tracts like the Northern Sajek ranges (where NLFT bases now are mostly based) are still not accessible and Bangladesh security forces have limited capability ofhitting these areas. That explains why the NLFT, specially its Panther regiment, has been able to regroup in this area and operate on the Mizoram-Tripura axis.