NEW DELHI, Dec 19 ? The Royal Government of Bhutan (RGB) has handed over a batch of seven ultras belonging to the ULFA, NDFB and KLO even as the Government of India has made a request to the RGB to take special care of the women and children captured during its operation against the NE ultras on its soil. The RGB last evening handed over a batch of seven ultras belonging to the ULFA, NDFB and KLO, while more batches are expected to be handed over shortly, Army Chief General NC Vij disclosed here today.
Meanwhile, according to highly placed sources here, women and children in custody of the RGB, are likely to be handed over to the Indian authorities within a day or two. The identity of the fresh batch handed over to India last evening has been kept under wraps after RGB protested the leakage of identity of those handed over earlier including that of Mithinga Daimary and other top leaders of NDFB and KLO, sources divulged. The Army Chief, meanwhile, has clarified that Royal Bhutan Army and Royal Bhutan Guards are carrying the entire Operation. The Indian Army is only providing logistical support and filling the border, he added. Describing the operations as a ?resounding success?, the Army chief confirmed that top underground leaders were among the insurgents handed over to India.
?We expect that the operations would go on for some time?, the Army Chief said, ruling out the possibility of some of the insurgents, now on the run, having infiltrated into the Indian territory. ?A big dragnet has been spread on our side of the border and if the insurgents attempt to cross over into the Indian side they will get a hot reception,? Vij said. Sources said that information pouring in from Assam indicated that taking advantage of surrender by Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), some of the NDFB cadres were feared to have sneaked into the State days before launching of the Operation in Bhutan.
The main advantage of the BLT was that it had its camps along the Bhutan border in strategic locations set up to keep an eye on movement of rival NDFB cadres. But from December 2 onwards, they started abandoning their camps to take part in the surrender ceremony on December 10. For a good part of over a week, the NDFB had a free run of the place and reports were that there was heavy movement of NDFB cadres during that period, highly placed sources disclosed. The NDFB incidentally held negotiations with the representatives of Royal Government of Bhutan in November and unlike ULFA they did not ask for more time but straightway refused to vacate their camps. The military operations came within days.
Meanwhile, demand for a statement by the Government on the ongoing military operation was raised by members in the Lok Sabha. Yesterday a delegation of Congress leaders of Assam had called on External affairs Minister, Yaswant Sinha with a similar demand. The Minister, however, was non-committal as he maintained that operations were still continuing.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi claimed that the militants had crossed over to areas along the Assam-Bengal border and were ?terrorising? the local people. As soon as the House assembled for the day, this morning, Sri Das Munshi raised the issue, appreciating the RGB?s action but he claimed that some of the ultras were hiding in villages in this area after being pushed out of that country.
?They are terrorising the local people and there is panic in North Bengal?, Dasmunsi, who represents Raiganj constituency in North Bengal, said adding areas like Siliguri had been affected by the influx of these insurgents. Several Opposition members besides the Ruling Party?s V K Malhotra who also asked for a statement on the issue supported him. In response, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said she would request Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani to make a statement on the issue. However, it is up to him to decide when he will make the statement, she said.