— PHOTO: RITU RAJ KONWAR

TAKING STOCK: Officials of the Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles at a co-ordination meeting in Shillong on Tuesday.

GUWAHATI: The Border Security Force and Bangladesh Rifles have begun discussions on a ceremonial BSF-BDR retreat in Agartala, on the lines of the one held at Wagha, as part of confidence-building measures.

The two forces are also discussing issues of effective border management at the bi-annual coordination meeting between the BSF Inspector-General and the BDR Deputy Director-General, which began in Shillong on Tuesday.

Illegal migration, training and shelter by Bangladesh to Indian insurgent groups, supply of arms to anti-national elements, trans-border crimes and extradition of jailed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leader Anup Chetia to India would be raised at the three-day meeting, the BSF said.

BDR assurance

The BDR agreed to take up with the Bangladesh Government the extradition of Chetia, a BSF official informally told reporters in the midst of the meeting.

A BSF release said the recent "unprovoked firing" by the BDR in Assam's Cachar Sector would also be raised forcefully.

"Bangladesh carried out unprovoked firing on our border population in which two civilians were killed and an 11-year-old child was injured. Bangladesh Rifles used heavy mortars with automatic weapons which are unprecedented and uncalled for."

Kidnapping of government official and children for ransom by Indian insurgent groups using Bangladesh soil as a safe sanctuary would also figure in the discussion.

The BSF would focus on Bangladesh's resistance to erection of fence and development works along the border.

The BDR delegation is led by Deputy Director-General Brigadier S.M. Golam Rabbani and the BSF delegation by S.K. Dutta, Inspector-General, BSF, Agartala. He is accompanied by J.P. Sinha, Shillong IG; and Sector Commanders of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Cachar and Mizoram.

"Deport militants, dismantle camps"

PTI reports:

India asked Bangladesh to deport 113 militants, including ULFA chairman Arbind Rajkhowa, and dismantle 172 camps run by northeastern insurgents in its territory.

Senior BSF officials said top leaders of the outlawed United National Liberation Front, People's Liberation Army, Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup and National Liberation Front of Tripura figured in the list of militants "whose deportation had been asked for."

The list of insurgent camps was handed over to the BDR delegation.

Citing intelligence inputs on militant camps and hideouts, the BSF urged the BDR to take action, saying the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh recently seized weapons from some of them.

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