The West Bengal government has sounded a red alert throughout the state following intelligence reports that terrorists may trigger serial blasts in different parts of the state. A senior official said the state government had already received alarming information from the intelligence wing of the Border Security Force (BSF) that at least three teams of the Islamic Jihad Council (IJC) comprising activists of L-e-T, Jaish-e-Mohammad, HuJI and a couple of militant groups from the Northeast might carry on serial blasts in different places of Kolkata, Asansol, Siliguri and New Jalpaiguri station within a fortnight. The report from the BSF said that the families of the terrorists had already received between Rs 500,000 and Rs 10,00,000 each as remuneration for carrying out the blasts. The terrorists had already entered the state from Bangladesh and reached their hideouts in both South and North Bengal.
The city and state police had already launched massive search operations in New Market, Chowringhee, Gariahat, Park Circus, Victoria Memorial and the possible hideouts of the terrorists in the city. The security forces had also intensified vigilance in all underground railway stations in the city and terminal railway stations like Howrah, Sealdah and New Jalpaiguri. Search operations were also being carried out in inter-state bus terminals in both South and North Bengal.
According to intelligence reports, the agents of PakistanÂ’s Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) and a section of the Bangladeshi civil and military officials have been coordinating with the terrorists to carry out subversive activities in India. With easy availability of arms, ammunition and explosives from China via Myanmar, this unholy alliance of terrorists are set to create havoc in India as it is evident from the recent blasts in North India, Tripura and Assam, the reports point out. The militants from Assam, Tripura, Manipur and West Bengal have already undergone a series of training along with the members of the IJC on use of different kind of explosives, including RDX and TNT under the supervision of some ISI and Bangladeshi experts, the reports pointed out.
The report feared that the ISI and the IJC might even use the Maoists to carry out serial blasts in different parts of the country. “The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) had already arranged meetings between the ISI agents and the Maoists, both in Bangladesh and Nepal,” the reports added.
Reports from across the border said that at least 20 teams, comprising Indian militants and Islamic terrorists, had been formed after extensive training on use of different kinds of explosive to carry out clandestine activities in different parts of India. These teams had reportedly established contacts with their linkmen in different parts of the country, including West Bengal, Karnataka, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Gujarat and New Delhi. Each team comprised at least seven members.
The state official said that the serial blasts were designed to destroy the basic fabric of the country and the centre should pay more attention to the international border with Bangladesh. “On our part, we have intensified vigilance along the border and other vulnerable areas to prevent any subversive activity by these unholy nexus of Islamic terrorists and Indian militants,” he added.