Author:
Publication: India Defence
Date: December 2, 2007
URL: http://www.india-defence.com/reports/3635
Pakistan-based terror outfits have formed
a strong nexus with militants in Bangladesh and are taking advantage of the
porous border to carry out attacks in India, according to the paramilitary
Border Security Force (BSF).
'A strong nexus has emerged between Pakistan-based
terror outfits like Lashker-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) with Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami
(HuJI) and Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) of Bangladesh,' A.K. Mitra,
director general of the BSF, told IANS.
'We have authentic reports that militants
are using Bangladeshi territory for entering India clandestinely through porous
borders and have information about their involvement in terrorist activities
in India.'
Mitra said that Bangladeshi nationals are
being trained to be terrorists in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
The BSF official said the paramilitary force
had recently apprehended 11 militants while they were crossing over the India-Bangladesh
border in West Bengal.
'During investigations it was found that these
11 militants were a part of LeT, JeM and JMB. This suggests that they were
on some joint mission.'
Mitra said there were also reports of women
being involved in terror activities. 'It is a great cause of concern and the
force is maintaining a strict vigil over the developments.'
Mitra's admission of terrorists using the
border with Bangladesh to sneak into India is in line with the belief of Indian
intelligence agencies that HuJI militants in connivance with JeM ultras are
conducting terror strikes here at the behest of Pakistan's Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI) agency.
Intelligence agencies strongly suspect HuJI's
hand behind the synchronised bombings that ripped across three prominent Uttar
Pradesh towns leaving 13 dead and 80 wounded last month.
'The e-mail warnings sent to some private
TV channel offices minutes before the blasts (in Uttar Pradesh) suggest a
HuJi hand in the blasts,' an intelligence official told IANS on condition
of anonymity.
'The e-mail id, guru_alhind@yahoo.fr, from
which the mail was sent has an indication of HuJi involvement as the name
Guru had first sprung up during the interrogation of alleged India HuJi chief
Babu Bhai, arrested in Lucknow last June.'
'Babu Bhai had referred to a contact man in
New Delhi as Guru, who could not be tracked down, therefore the e-mail id
could have something to do with the same person,' he pointed out.
Intelligence officials also claim that HuJI
was behind the bombings in Malegaon last year, and Ajmer and Hyderabad this
year.
Mitra said infiltration along the India-Bangladesh
border could not be completely plugged since the frontier was porous.
'We can't completely control infiltration
through the India-Bangladesh border as it is very much porous and many areas
are not fenced because of geographical barriers,' Mitra said.
India shares a 4,096 km border - 2,979 km
of land and 1,116 km of rivers - with Bangladesh. The BSF has been able to
fence only 66 percent of the land border. Also, only 277 km of the border
area is covered under floodlights and even this is affected by frequent electricity
failures and rainfall.
According to BSF figures, a total of 6,617
Bangladesh nationals were apprehended during the first 10 months this year
compared to 9,679 during the year 2006.
'The decrease in interception of illegal Bangladeshi
migrants is due to ongoing border fencing and construction of roads, and the
setting up of floodlights along the border,' he added.
While fencing has reduced the infiltration
problem to a large extent, the border can still be breached. 'We want floodlights
everywhere in the complete border area,' he said, adding that a proposal regarding
this was sent to the home ministry.
Mitra said that during the India-Bangladesh
border coordination meeting in Dhaka this year, a list of 141 camps of anti-India
insurgent groups was handed over to Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).
'Last year, the number was 176, which shows
that some of the camps have been destroyed or have been shifted due to selective
action by the forces,' Mitra said.
'However, Bangladeshi authorities maintained
their official stand that Bangladesh doesn't allow its territory to be used
for any prejudicial activity against any other country.'