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India-Pakistan

Separatists behind deadly India bicycle bomb

2013-12-28

JALPAIGURI -- A bicycle bomb that killed five people when it exploded prematurely in eastern India was the work of terrorists militants fighting for a separate state in the Darjeeling tea district, police said Friday. Detectives probing Thursday night’s blast in West Bengal said they believed the bomb exploded accidentally as a member of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) cycled through the town of Jalpaiguri. A senior police officer said that a KLO terrorist militant named as Lalmohon Debnath was among the five killed when the powerful device exploded on a bridge, near a school. “Preliminary investigations have revealed that Debnath was carrying the bomb to plant somewhere else,” West Bengal police inspector general Anuj Sharma told AFP, adding the blast could be felt two kilometres away. “A timer device had been fitted to trigger the explosion, but the bomb went off suddenly while he was on the bridge. “Debnath was blown in half... We do not think it was a suicide attack,” Sharma added. Not unless he meant to blow himself in half... Police had received a tip-off about a possible attack and arrested three suspected KLO terrorists followers before the explosion which was carried two days before the anniversary of the group’s founding in 1996, said Sharma. Ten people were also injured when the bomb exploded late Thursday. Earlier reports put the number of dead at four but a fifth victim died later in hospital. The KLO has carried out several other bombings with devices strapped to bicycles and has also marked its anniversary with attacks in the past. Sharma said the KLO were behind a 2009 bombing in Jalpaiguri which killed four and an attack at a train station in November 2006 that claimed seven lives. The KLO wants to create a separate state of Kamtapur in northern West Bengal which would include the tea-growing region of Darjeeling and five other districts, some of which border Bangladesh and Bhutan. It would also incorporate parts of the neighbouring state of Assam. West Bengal is one of India’s largest states and Jalpaiguri is some 600 kilometres north of the state capital Kolkata. The Indian government agreed in July to the creation of the new state of Telangana by splitting Andhra Pradesh, a move that critics said would fuel terrorist separatist campaigns.

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India-Pakistan

ISI said to be planning attacks in West Bengal

2008-12-25

After wreaking havoc in Mumbai, major towns of West Bengal, including Kolkata, are next on the hit list of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence. Top sources in the Union Home Ministry confirmed that a group of Harkat-ul-Jihad-al- Islami (HuJI) terrorists has made repeated attempts to enter India recently from Bangladesh through the ‘chicken neck’ corridor. “There is a possibility that some HuJI terrorists have already crossed over with arms and ammunition and are heading to team up with Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Indian insurgent group, to carry out lethal terror strikes in West Bengal during end-December and early January,” sources said. Another intelligence report on Wednesday stated that ULFA militants in Bangladesh are likely to enter through the Karimganj district of Assam, a temporary departure from their established routes of transit in Meghalaya. Both the states have been alerted by the Centre. The alerts come close on the heels of the arrest in Jammu of three Pakistanis, one of them allegedly an army regular. The trio had come from Dhaka and apparently lived in Kolkata before proceeding to Jammu and Kashmir. Working in cahoots with Bangladesh’s espionage agency Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the ISI, with its sinister plan of ‘bleeding India through thousand wounds’, has made contacts with several Indian insurgent groups. The recently carried out blasts in Assam that killed 89 were part of this design where the handlers in Bangladesh had roped in ULFA and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). The KLO, which came into existence in 1995 with the help of ULFA, is active in six districts of West Bengal - South Dinajpur, North Dinajpur, Coochbehar, Jalpaiguri, Malda and Darjeeling - and four districts of lower Assam - Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara. Intelligence agencies claim that both ISI and DGFI have made KLO an active partner with HuJI and are constantly helping it to upgrade its strike power by supplying arms, ammunitions and explosives. “KLO chief Jeevan Singh is sheltered in Bangladesh, and is a protégé of the ULFA,” a senior official said. He hangs around in northern Bangladesh, close to his home constituency. Singh, along with Ranjan Daimary of the NDFB and Paresh Baruah of ULFA are said to be paying off the debt of protection from the HuJI-ISI nexus through "disturbing" eastern India. “Keeping them there cannot be a charitable deed, they would have to pay a price,” said a senior official.

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India-Pakistan

Blast on train kills 5 in eastern India

2006-11-20

KOLKATA, India (Rooters) - At least five people were killed and 70 wounded when a powerful explosion believed to have been caused by a bomb ripped through a train in eastern India, police said. The blast hit two crowded coaches near a remote railway station in West Bengal state, about 665 km (415 miles) north of state capital Kolkata, Raj Kanojia, a top police officer, told Reuters. "It seems to be a powerful bomb and the casualties could mount in the next few hours," Kanojia said. The blast took place around 6.10 p.m. (1240 GMT) when the train stopped at Belakoba station on its way to the tourist town of New Jalpaiguri. Police and emergency workers were rushed to the area and hundreds of panic-stricken passengers were being evacuated. "Some of the injuries are quite serious," Suresh Bhowmik, head of Jalpaiguri's district hospital, said by phone. "We are calling for reinforcements." Rescuers were evacuating the injured in the dark and television pictures showed local villagers giving them a hand. Dozens of injured passengers were crying for help when police reached the train, witnesses said. Police said they had no clues yet about who may have been behind the blast, but added that anti-India rebels from the neighboring state of Assam and a local insurgent group, the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, were known to have a presence in the area.

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India-Pakistan

Bhutan ’seizes top Indian rebels’

2003-12-21

Bhutanese troops have captured seven senior Indian rebel leaders during fierce fighting, officials in the Himalayan kingdom say. Five other leaders, including the founder of a rebel group, have died fighting the troops in southern Bhutan. More than 130 people have died since the Bhutanese army launched its first offensive against three Indian rebel groups on Monday. The rebels have for years used Bhutan as a base to strike against India. The North Eastern states of India are crawling with literally dozens of ’rebel’ groups, although in truth, all but a handful are essentially just small ethnic gangs that recruit from the myriad of different tribes in the area. The ULFA however, has been around for decades and has thousands of members, and basically operates as the main coordinator for many of the insurgent groups in the region. All the senior rebel leaders killed and captured in the latest fighting belonged to the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a Bhutanese military official told the BBC. One of the dead rebels is the founder of (Ulfa), Bhimkanta Buragohain. Among those arrested is Bening Rabha, who was in charge of the Ulfa bases in Bhutan and a top leader of the group’s military wing. Senior leaders Apruba Deka, Satish Hazarika and Ranjit Hazarika are reported to have been killed. Bhutan has rejected an offer by the rebel groups to move out of their bases if the army operation against them is halted. Thereby presenting solid evidence they're not stoopid... The Royal Bhutan Army has started handing over the rebels to India, the Indian army chief said. "The first batch of seven arrested militants has been handed over. The rest will follow," army chief Nirmal Chand Vij told BBC. The Red Cross Thingy is sending a team to southern Bhutan to explore the situation after reports that rebel family members were trapped in the fighting. Ulfa earlier told the BBC that it had appealed to the Red Cross to intervene to protect women and children. ... and their cute little puppies, kittens and baby ducks. The three rebel groups involved in the fighting are Ulfa, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). Ulfa is fighting for Assam’s independence from India while the NDFB and the KLO are fighting for separate tribal homelands. About 6,000 Bhutanese troops have destroyed almost all of the 30 rebel camps in the country during the offensive, officials say. The camps were said to have sheltered about 3,000 rebels. These groups have been hanging around Bhutan for years, and the Bhutanese seem to have finally had enough of them, and they seem to be doing extremely well considering their army is tiny and inexperienced. There are said to be around 110 rebel camps located in Bangladesh, whose government turns a blind eye towards them, so the destruction of these 30 camps is likely to be a major, rather than a devastating defeat for the groups.

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India-Pakistan

Battered ULFA appeals: let us out

2003-12-21

Under severe fire after three days of continuous operations by the Royal Bhutan Army, a desperate ULFA today appealed to the Bhutan King to stop the offensive and called for a ceasefire so that its cadres holed up in the Himalayan kingdom can at least save their lives. ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Barua today called up local newspaper offices here and admitted that his outfit had suffered casualties which had compelled him to call for a ceasefire. He was quoted as saying that central headquarters and general headquarters of the ULFA located at Merengphu had been smashed by the Royal Bhutan Army, and that several middle-level cadres had lost their lives. Several ULFA leaders here, in fact, have been trying to drum up sympathy by claiming that ‘‘women and children’’ are being killed in the crackdown, a claim that has few takers here. He forgot the part about the puppies, kittens, and baby ducks who were stomped when the Bhuts overran the elementary school... Sources said ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has even sent feelers to New Delhi expressing his desire to open up negotiations with the government of India. "Yeah! We're ready to talk now! Make us an offer and we'll consider it..." The pressure is intense: intelligence sources said at least 60 militants belonging to the ULFA, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) had been killed until this afternoon. The break-up: eight from ULFA, 48 NDFB and 12 KLO. Meanwhile, 89 militants belonging to the ULFA, NDFB and other groups have surrendered before the army at Tezpur in Assam. Better hurry and negotiate, before they're all gone...

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Central Asia

Bhutan ’seizes top Indian rebels’

2003-12-19

Bhutanese troops have captured seven senior Indian rebel leaders during fierce fighting. Five other leaders, including the founder of a rebel group, have died fighting the troops in southern Bhutan. Hurrah for Bhutan! More than 130 people have died since the Bhutanese army launched its first offensive against three Indian rebel groups on Monday. The rebels have for years used Bhutan as a base to strike against India. For their first operation, this is pretty damm good. All the senior rebel leaders killed and captured in the latest fighting belonged to the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa), a Bhutanese military official told the BBC. One of the dead rebels is the founder of (Ulfa), Bhimkanta Buragohain. Among those arrested is Bening Rabha, who was in charge of the Ulfa bases in Bhutan and a top leader of the group’s military wing. Senior leaders Apruba Deka, Satish Hazarika and Ranjit Hazarika are reported to have been killed. Sounds like they nailed most of the leadership. Bhutan has rejected an offer by the rebel groups to move out of their bases if the army operation against them is halted. "We’re winning, why stop now?" "Troops have arrested more than 150 rebels, including some leaders, and many more are expected to surrender," a Bhutanese official said. The Royal Bhutan Army has started handing over the rebels to India, the Indian army chief said. "The first batch of seven arrested militants has been handed over. The rest will follow," army chief Nirmal Chand Vij told BBC. The three rebel groups have called for a two-day strike beginning Saturday demanding the return of the bodies of their fighters to the families. A joint statement by the groups said the strike would be "indefinite" if the bodies of the fighters were not returned. I don’t think you have much leverage about now. A rebel group in the north-eastern state of Tripura told the BBC that they would be sending 100 fighters to join the rebels fighting Bhutanese forces as a "mark of solidarity". Oh, that’s a real smart move. The group All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) has shared a close relationship with Ulfa. The three rebel groups involved in the fighting are Ulfa, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO). Ulfa is fighting for Assam’s independence from India while the NDFB and the KLO are bandidos fighting for separate tribal homelands. Why can’t you all just get along? About 6,000 Bhutanese troops have destroyed almost all of the 30 rebel camps in the country during the offensive. The camps were said to have sheltered about 3,000 rebels. Indian troops have been deployed on the country’s border with Bhutan to prevent rebels from fleeing into India. "We are sealing the border on our side so that anyone who is trying to escape this side can be apprehended," said the Indian army chief. Hammer, meet anvil.

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