B'desh terror outfit Ansar Bangla Team targeting India, Pakistan allegedly assisting: Reports

Guwahati, Dec. 18: Worrying intelligence is emerging from neighbouring Bangladesh, keeping Indian security forces on high alert to thwart potential attacks by terrorist outfits operating from within the country.

The first input is that the terrorists, particularly the Ansar Bangla Team (ABT), which is a wing of the Al Qaeda Indian subcontinent, are trying to train up a few people and send them to India to indulge in acts of violence and the second is that Pakistan has already extended help to Bangladesh to create trouble in India.

Security sources told The Assam Tribune that a large number of Rohingya are now taking shelter in Bangladesh after they were displaced from Myanmar. According to the inputs available, the ABT is trying to train up a few of the Rohingya and send them to India to remain as sleeper cells. Such sleeper cells can be activated whenever required to indulge in acts of violence.

As now and then Rohingya are often caught by BSF or other security forces in India, the arrest of one or two such persons will not raise any eyebrow and that is why, the terrorist outfits are trying to train up Rohingya to work for them in India. Sources admitted that in the past, outfits like ABT tried to use local youths and train them, but the attempts failed as most of them were put behind bars and under the present circumstances, it will be difficult for the leaders of the ABT or JMB to come to Assam to train up local youths. That is why, they are trying to use Rohingya.

Such outfits had also tried to radicalize youths by using the cyber space but giving proper training through the internet is a difficult proposition.

Sources pointed out that in recent times, a number of Bangladesh nationals and Rohingya were nabbed in Assam when they were trying to fan out to other parts of the country. That is why, it is very unlikely that terror groups would indulge in acts of violence in Assam in the near future to disturb the transit route of Bangladeshi nationals.

The second disturbing input is that Pakistan is sending some kind of help to Bangladesh which is a bit clandestine. According to reports, a ship coming from the Gulf via Karachi docked in Chittagong port on November 11.

The port officials were not allowed to check the ship and later 34 of 40 containers were allowed to be checked. This proves that there is something to hide in the unchecked containers.

A few Pakistani nationals also de-boarded unchecked from the ship and on November 17, there was a report which said, "Help from Pakistan has arrived." Now the question is whether Pakistan sent arms and ammunition to Bangladesh. If not what was there in the containers which were not allowed to be checked?

- By R Dutta Choudhury