Dhaka urged 'to hand over rebels'

By Subir Bhaumik
BBC News, Shillong

Indian guards patrolling the Bangladesh border

India has asked Bangladesh to hand over more than 100 separatist rebels from the country's troubled north-east allegedly living in Bangladesh.

It made the request at a meeting of border guards from the two countries in India's north-eastern city of Shillong.

Officials of India's Border Security force (BSF) handed over a list of 112 separatist rebels to the delegation of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR).

Bangladesh has always denied the presence of the rebels in its country.

A senior BSF official, Suresh Kumar Dutta, told the BBC that the list handed over to the BDR contained names of rebels, about whose presence in Bangladesh the BSF has "fool-proof evidence".

He said Assamese separatist leaders, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Paresh Barua and Anup Chetia figured in the list.

'Rebel camps'

The Indian government is now trying to open a dialogue with the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) militant group to which these leaders belong.

Chetia has finished serving a prison term in Bangladesh after his arrest in Dhaka 10 years ago.

Mr Dutta said a list of 172 camps allegedly run by north-east separatist groups in Bangladesh was also handed over to the BDR delegation led by its deputy director general, Brigadier SK Gholam Rabbani.

Mr Rabbani was not available for comment but Mr Dutta said the BDR officials said they would try to verify the information provided by the BSF and act on it.

In recent months, Bangladesh security forces are reported to have attacked suspected rebel camps in its frontier districts and even handed over some arrested rebels to India