By IANS
Kolkata : The Border Security Force (BSF) has told the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) of the existence of 141 camps of Indian insurgent groups in Bangladesh, and the BDR were now taking up the issue seriously, said BSF Director General A.K. Mitra Monday.
Addressing a press conference after returning from a border coordination conference in Dhaka, Mitra said: “We have handed over a list to the BDR, informing it of the presence of 141 camps of various militant outfits in Bangladesh that are involved in anti-India activities. Interestingly, for the first time, the BDR officials have also agreed on the existence of these terrorist camps in their territory.”
He said the BDR earlier this year had destroyed two abandoned camps inside Bangladesh.
India and Bangladesh share a 4,096-km land and riverine border, of which 2,216 km is shared by the state of West Bengal.
“I feel they are now serious to uproot these camps as they have admitted to the presence of these insurgent groups, which they (BDR) used to deny earlier. Most of these camps are mobile set-ups, and we have provided them with the figure on the basis of information given by different intelligence agencies,” Mitra said.
As a part of border management programme, Mitra said the visit of the BSF delegation to Dhaka between Oct 24 and 29 was highly satisfactory and fruitful in building cross-border mechanism.
The meeting also focused on certain bilateral issues like trans-border crime, illegal migration from Bangladesh, cattle stealing, arms smuggling and circulation of fake Indian currency.
“I have also invited a group of Bangladeshi students, Class 8 to 11, to come to Kolkata as a part of their education tour. They have accepted the offer and I hope they would shortly come to India as a part of confidence building mechanism,” he said. A team of Indian students would also visit Bangladesh to enhance this cultural interaction, he added.