Khowai (Tripura): Despite Dhaka’s crackdown on separatist outfits from India’s northeast, their camps still exist in Bangladesh, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Sarkar said here Thursday.
“Separatist outfits of the northeast region go to the neighbouring country for training and come back to carry out violent activities,” he told a gathering at Khowai, 80 km north of Tripura capital Agartala.
“Taking advantage of the hilly terrain, thick forests and unfenced border, northeast militants trained in Bangladesh camps cross over into Indian territory,” Sarkar said.
At present, there are about 14 camps belonging to Tripura militants in Bangladesh, according to the chief minister. The number has come appreciably down from 55 previously.
Sarkar and the chief ministers of West Bengal, Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram will accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on his official visit to Dhaka Sep 6-7.
Sheltering northeast militants, border-related problems, trade and economy, and transit through Banladesh are expected to be discussed.
“Of the 856-km Tripura border with Bangladesh, 75 percent has been fenced and work on the remaning is going on,” Sarkar said, and added that topographical problems were causing delays. He said that deployment of the Border Security Force along Bangladesh’s border with Tripura had been raised from eight battalions to 15. Two more para-military battalions are expected to be added soon.
“It is imperative to check the cross-border movement of northeast militants, infiltration and other illegal cross-border activities,” Sarkar said. The number of battalions in the Tripura State Rifles (TSR), which has earned kudos from the prime minister and many state governments, has been raised from four to 13 in the past few years. “Militants backed by non-Left political parties are trying to rear their heads ahead of the 2013 assembly elections and everyone, regardless of political ideology, should stand against this evil effort,” said Sarkar, who is also a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) politburo. (IANS)