| Submit your comments on this article |
| Bangladesh |
| Ulfa leader captured |
| 2010-07-18 |
| [Bangla Daily Star] Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-9) early yesterday arrested a leader of Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) and his Bangladeshi aide from Bhairab in Kishoreganj. The arrestees are Ranjan Chowdhury alias Major Ranjan, 46, former general secretary of Dhubri district unit Ulfa, and his Bangladeshi aide Pradip Marak, 57, of Bakura village in Jhinaigati upazila. The law enforcers also recovered one pistol, one revolver, four handmade bombs and bomb making materials from Ranjan's hideout at Lakshmipur village in Bhairab. Rab sources said on information, they conducted a raid in Lakshmipur village around 4:30am and arrested the two with the arms and explosives. In preliminary interrogation the arrestees admitted their involvement with Ulfa, the sources added. The arrestees were brought to the Rab headquarters in Dhaka yesterday for a media briefing and sent back to Bhairab in the afternoon. The Rab sources said they would soon produce Ranjan and Pradip before a Kishoreganj court with remand prayers. Rab Chief Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said, "We are trying to find out whether Ulfa has any link with local militant outfits or has any military wing here. We are also trying to ascertain how many Ulfa leaders and operatives are living here." Chief of Rab Intelligence Wing Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan said, "Ulfa activities in India are apparently regulated by its leaders and operatives who have taken shelter in Bangladesh. Among them, Ranjan is now the chief as the other top leaders of the separatist group are in jails." Ziaul Ahsan said in the preliminary interrogation Ranjan informed about his training in firearms and explosives. Rab is also trying to find out the organisation's arsenal in the country, he added. Commander Mohammad Sohail, director of Rab legal and media wing, said Ranjan married a Bangladeshi and started living at Gazni village of Jhinaigati upazila in Sherpur since 1997. He has been making frequent trips to India on organisational purposes. Ranjan illegally entered into the country through Kurigram district in September 1997 to meet Ulfa military wing chief Paresh Barua in Dhaka, said commander Sohail. Rab sources said Ulfa operatives under Ranjan's leadership are active in Sherpur, Kurigram and Sylhet, the bordering districts of Assam. In 1995, Indian law enforcers arrested Ranjan on his way back to India from Bhutan after his meeting with Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia, who has been convicted in several cases and now in jail in Bangladesh since 1997. Last December, Assam police arrested Ulfa chief Arabinda Rajkhowa Raju Barua and eight others of the group although some foreign media reported that Arabinda and the others were handed over to Indian Border Security Force by Bangladesh at Dawki in Meghalaya. The Bangladesh and Indian governments dismissed the media claim. |
| Posted by:Fred |