ULFA, Bangladesh's DGFI join hands to wreak havoc

TERROR HUB: Intelligence sources says the ISI and the DGFI are actively supporting North-East insurgents.

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New Delhi: The serial bomb blasts in four cities of Assam on Thursday point to a new chapter of terror by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA).

The investigating agencies say that ULFA is being backed by Bangaldesh's military intelligence wing, the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) which has been modelled on Pakistan's ISI.

Chief of Bangladesh's Army General Moeen Uddin Ahmed has been at the centre of India's diplomatic efforts in Bangladesh in the last eight months.

Indian agencies say DGFI's head till early this month Major General ATM Amin has always been close to ISI. Major General ATM Amin was also instrumental in giving advanced training in bomb making to a new batch of ULFA cadres in Maximhat near Chittagong in from April to June this year.

The camp also trained new boys of other tribal insurgent groups from North-East and West Bengal like the All Tripura Tiger Force and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation.

"The ISI and the DGFI are behind these things. Their new strategy is to use the local outfits. They design and plan the entire thing," GM Srivastav, former ADG (Ops), Assam Police, says.

Indian investigators allege that several separatist militant groups from North-East are flexing their muscle from hideouts in Dhaka.

According to a list given by India to Bangladesh, nearly 100 insurgent camps, hideouts and safe houses of militant groups operating in the North-East are based in Bangladesh.

The document clearly shows that the ULFA leads the pack of separatist groups that operate from Bangladesh. The group also maintains seven active training camps in Bangladesh and its chief Paresh Barua is also hiding there.

"If you look at the history of violence in Assam perpetrated by ULFA from 80s, there have been a number of blasts people have died in large numbers," Srivastav says.

ULFA's character is also changing. The group's armed wings do not recruit only Assamese men anymore. They hire anyone who will carry out their agenda, for a price and their commander-in-chief Paresh Barua insists that the new band of boys don't discuss political ideology in the training camp.

While insurgency has degenerated into urban terrorism, now the ULFA has gained the eyeballs and attention they have craved for several years.