DHAKA, 30 October 2007 — Bangladesh and India have exchanged lists of wanted criminals and suspected insurgent camps at a five-day meeting of their border forces, which ended in Dhaka yesterday.
“We have requested India to hand over 1,591 wanted Bangladeshi criminals either hiding or detained in India,” Maj. Gen. Shakil Ahmed, director general of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) border guard, told reporters after the meeting.
“We have handed a list of 141 Indian insurgent camps operating in Bangladesh, based on our intelligence reports,” said Ashish Kumar Mitra, chief of the India Border Security Force, who led the Indian team at the meeting.
He said Bangladesh had been asked to “destroy the camps after necessary investigations.”
“For the first time, the BDR has assured us that they will seek and destroy the camps of Harkatul Jihad Islami (HJI) militants,” Mitra told a news briefing in Kolkata, capital of the eastern Indian state of West Bengal, later yesterday.
“We know that HJI is actively involved in organizing terrorist camps inside Bangladesh territory.” “Bangladesh has (already) destroyed two terrorist camps and are looking for more. This reflects how we are closer to resolving problems together,” Mitra said.
Mitra said a proposed train service between Dhaka and Kolkata could not be implemented despite successful recent test runs, because “Bangladesh has not agreed to allow us to build a fence near Gede. We are still trying to work out a solution.” The meeting also discussed other border issues such as smuggling, trespassing and human trafficking.
12 Suspects Arrested
Bangladeshi security forces arrested at least 12 suspected militants in connection with a plot to assassinate ex-Prime Minister Hasina Wajed three years ago, officials said yesterday. Nine of the 12 arrested have admitted to their involvement in the attack on the Awami League rally in Dhaka in 2004. Awami League President Hasina narrowly survived the attack.
The arrests came after Mufti Abdul Hannan, the leader of the HJI, confessed to the group’s involvement in the August 2004 grenade attack that killed at least 20 people.
The Rapid Action Battalion arrested the militants in raids early yesterday, said Col. Meshkat, a commanding officer of the crack security force.
“Their names cropped up during interrogation of Mufti Hannan. He admitted his connection to the attack and also named the persons involved in the attack,” RAB commander Abul Kalam Azad said.
“Grenades, rifles and arms and explosives were seized during the raid. The grenades are the same ones used in the attack on Hasina,” he said.
Hasina Rejects Charges
The Awami League chief yesterday rejected accusations of graft when quizzed by Anti-Corruption Commission officials, her lawyer said.
ACC officials asked Hasina several questions concerning one of the two cases filed against her in June for extorting 80 million taka ($1.16 million) from two businessmen.
