Freed Bangladesh militants spark fresh security concerns for India

Guwahati, Dec. 17: With senior leaders of Islamist militant organisation Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), which is a part of the Al-Qaeda the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), out in the open after the new regime took over powers in Bangladesh, the security threat to Assam and West Bengal has increased manifold and the security agencies and police forces are keeping a close watch to prevent the ultras from making inroads into India.

ABT head Jasim Uddin Rahmani was jailed by the previous regime in Bangladesh, but he is now out of jail and has issued a video message warning India. In the highly inflammatory message, the ABT chief lashed out at ousted Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and warned India to stay away from her.

The ABT leader asked India not to put a step towards Bangladesh and warned that if India does so, the chicken neck corridor connecting the Northeast India with the rest of the country would be blocked with the help of China. "We do not want conflict with India but if challenged, we will divide India," he warned.

Rahmani further said that Bangladesh should have a new constitution and the national anthem of Bangladesh, which was penned by Rabindranath Tagore, should be changed and a new anthem be composed. He also urged Muhammad Yunus, head of the caretaker government in Bangladesh, to adopt Islamic economy for the country.

Meanwhile, security sources admitted before The Assam Tribune that the threat from the terrorist groups of Bangladesh is real and the police and security agencies are on high alert.

In the past also, terrorist outfits like JMB and ABT tried to establish roots in Assam, but their attempts were foiled.

In the years 2022 and 2023, more than 60 members of the ABT and JMB were arrested in Assam. But at that time, the security agencies of Bangladesh also worked in close coordination with the Indian agencies.

The situation has now totally changed and anti-India rhetoric is very high in Bangladesh. Moreover, the jailed terrorists have been released and they are now having a free run in Bangladesh. Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) is also trying to fish in the troubled waters and under these circumstances, the threat to Assam and the Northeast has increased.

Sources said though the BSF has been kept on high alert to prevent anti-India elements from sneaking into India from Bangladesh, it is not possible to guard every inch of the border throughout the day.

"Moreover, the ABT leaders do not have to come to India to create trouble as they can use the cyber space to radicalize youths. In the past also, terrorist outfits tried such methods to radicalize youths in India and it is not possible to check all the communication made through the cyber space," they said.

Sources also pointed out that Jaish-e-Mohammad (JEM), a Pakistan-based terrorist outfit managed to induct youths from Assam sitting far away in Pakistan by using the cyber space. "As the ABT had radicalized some youths in the past, it will be even easier for the leaders of the outfit to induct youths from Assam into its fold by sitting in Bangladesh," sources added.

- By R Dutta Choudhury