Fourth KLO Militant nabbed, Rajbongshis active for separate state demand

Bau Bhatt

Jalpaiguri March 1:  In a string of coordinated operation Siliguri police on Friday evening arrested a Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) militant from Jyotinagar under Bhaktinagar police station. Named Dipak Roy, the KLO ultra is said to be a fourth batch trained at the Piping camp of the insurgent outfit. Police recovered a 9 mm pistol from Roy.

This is the fourth arrest made by the police over the past two weeks. The first arrest was made in Kamakshyaguri under Kumargramduar police station in Jalpaiguri. A resident of Simul Tapu in lower Assam’s Kokrajhar district, KLO cadre named Pradip Burman alias Raghu was arrested in mid-February and a German made HK 33 (Heckler & Koch) rifle, 300 rounds of live cartridges and four hand grenades were recovered from his possession.

Few days later two KLO militants – Jahar Burman and Hohon Roy – were arrested from Ghospukur under Phansidewa police station in Siliguri while police had recovered one pistol and 21 rounds of cartridges from the duo.

A number of arrests and recovery of arms have convinced that the Rajbongshi insurgent outfit is again active and is trying hard to launch a fresh movement in North Bengal and lower Assam. The Rajbongshis occupying the areas sparsely is demanding a separate Kamtapur state.

“Dipak is a prize catch and is involved in many extortion cases in Siliguri and adjacent areas. Further interrogation will reveal the reason for his visiting Siliguri,” said Anand Kumar, commissioner of police, Siliguri. Police officials believe that Dipak was here to extort money for the outfit.   

After their camps in Bhutan were dismantled in 2003 in an offensive, the Kamtapuri outfit now aims to regain its strength by motivating Rajbongshi youths. In an effort to regain the public support and to propagate their ideology among the Rajbongshi population, pro-Kamtapur activists have once again launched an extensive drive in the villages of North Bengal and Assam where there is considerable population of the Rajbongshis. Headed by the Kamtapur People’s Party, some bailed out Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) cadres are also participating in the exercise.