NEW DELHI, Feb. 2, 2008: The Intelligence agencies have raised an alarm over the
increasing influx of illegal migrants in the country from Bangladesh and the
disturbing trend of killings of Hindi-speaking people in the Northeast region.
While killings of Hindi-speaking people in the Northeast, particularly in Assam, has
been taking place for a long time, the crisis has aggravated recently on the lines of
what had happened with the Pundits in Kashmir in the early 1990’s, when the
killings had led to their mass exodus.
The Northeast’s Hindi-speaking people are said to be facing similar problems,
although the gravity of the situation is not as bad as faced by the Kashmiri Pundits
earlier, said a senior Intelligence agency official.
He added that a similar trend has, however, started in the Northeast which might
deteriorate further.
“It seems that the Intelligence agencies of our neighbouring countries is adopting
the same strategy vis-a-vis the Northeast, what it had done in Kashmir. Secondly,
Northeast insurgency is becoming a cocktail of the activities by the region’s
insurgent groups and Islamist militant outfits from Bangladesh,” the official said.
There are reports that Northeast militants, mainly Ulfa leaders, have close links with
Islamist terror groups and that they are sharing logistics, the official said. Since the
top leadership of Ulfa as well as Huji (Harkat-ul-Jehadi Islami) and even the
Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammad to some extent are operating from Bangladesh,
it is easy for them to help each other. “Inputs from Bangladesh, have suggested
that both are getting arms and ammunition from the same source and also indirect
help from certain forces from Bangladesh,” he added.
Of late, incidents of terrorist violence have also increased in the Northeast region.
In Assam especially, the law-and-order situation remains grim with a steep upswing
in violence.
From January 1 to 15 August, 2007, 234 people were killed in 336 incidents of
violence in the state, whereas 98 people were killed in 234 incidents in the same
period the previous year.
In Northeast, Assam accounted for 58 per cent of the total killings and 34 per cent
of total terror incidents in the region last year, the official said, pointing out that the
state has emerged as a key base for the region’s insurgents and Islamist terrorists.
http://www.thestatesman.org/page.print.php?usrsess=1&id=188612&clid=2 (1 of 3) [03/02/2008 22:54:03]
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