The Hindu : 35 KLO militants still unaccounted for in Bhutan

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Dec 29, 2003

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35 KLO militants still unaccounted for in Bhutan

By Our Special Correspondent

Kolkata Dec. 28. All the camps known to local intelligence — two main and four satellite — set up over the past few years by militants of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) in the forests of southern Bhutan have been destroyed in operations by the Royal Bhutan Army against Indian insurgents. But there are still around 35 KLO militants in that country who are "unaccounted for as yet."

Speaking to The Hindu today over telephone from West Bengal's Jalpaiguri district adjacent to the Indo-Bhutan border, the Inspector-General, North Bengal, Bhupinder Singh, said "between 38 and 40 KLO militants had been killed, surrendered or captured by the Bhutanese Army since the operations began on December 15.

But the fate of another 35, along with four women whose husbands are KLO militants and about five children of these families was still not known to the local authorities."

Meanwhile, the police have stepped up security arrangements for the Bhutanese passing through the region in the wake of a reported threat by the KLO against people of Bhutan who might either be residing or are in transit in north Bengal. The Jalpaiguri Superintendent of Police, S.N. Gupta, said "additional security was being provided to Bhutanese nationals in the district, many of whom have to pass through the fringe areas of Jalpaiguri while travelling from one part of Bhutan to another."

Two Indian jawans were injured and a KLO leader was killed in an encounter between the Indian Army and six militants trying to cross the border into India on Friday night, according to Mr. Singh.

The incident occurred when Lima, wife of an ULFA leader, was confronted by jawans while attempting to sneak into Jalpaiguri's Kumargram area, carrying a baby on her back. On being challenged, she whipped out a .65 pistol and fired at the jawans.

She was later joined by the other militants," Mr. Singh said.

Three of the militants fled into the Bhutan jungle.

According to Mr. Singh, during the course of interrogation, the militants now in police custody revealed that several KLO militants had been sharing camps with the ULFA in Bhutan.

"We have also learnt that at least four KLO leaders, including the commander-in-chief of the outfit, Jeevan Singh, are in Bangladesh.

The rest of those unaccounted for must still be in Bhutan even though all the KLO camps known to us including the major ones at Bukha and Piping/Bethani have been destroyed in the operations."

He said that "while between 20 and 30 KLO militants, some with their wives and children, used to be holed up in each of the two major camps, small groups of between five and eight persons had been operating from the smaller, satellite KLO camps in Bhutan."

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