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Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday claimed that over 300-odd cadres, belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and the anti-peace talks faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, were hiding in Bangladesh.
He claimed that at least ten top ranking leaders of the ULFA had taken refuge in the neighbouring country and were operating from there. "As per the information with me, ULFA chief Paresh Barua and NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary keep shifting their locations," Gogoi said.
The Assam government has prepared a dossier on the presence of militant camps in Bangladesh and it would be handed over to External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is scheduled to visit Bangladesh and meet the leaders of its newly-formed government.
"We are very happy that both the External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram are taking keen interest in the burning issues of infiltration and insurgency problem that are dogging the state," Gogoi said.
"The Assam government has already made it clear to the home minister that though tackling insurgency is an internal matter, the bases of militants inside neighbouring Bangladesh must be rooted out to control insurgency within Assam. The militants hiding in Bangladesh receive help from anti-India forces like the Harkat-ul-Jihadi and the Inter Services Intelligence to control activities within Assam," he said.
The Centre has already provided additional 17 companies of paramilitary forces to Assam to gear up the vigil along the India-Bangladesh border, informed the chief minister.