Coded radio signals sparks security concerns along India-Bangladesh border

Kolkata/Guwahati, Feb 10: Amateur ham radio operators have recently intercepted suspicious late-night radio signals in coded Bengali, Urdu, and Arabic along the Indo-Bangladesh border in South Bengal over the past two months, raising concerns about potential extremist activities, officials said.

This comes amid ongoing unrest in Bangladesh and escalating anti-India sentiments in the neighbouring country.

The issue was first discovered in December when ham radio operators detected unauthorised transmissions from Basirhat and Bongaon in North 24 Parganas, as well as the Sunderbans.

Alarmed by these signals, the operators reported the matter to the Ministry of Communications, which then forwarded the case to the International Monitoring Station (Radio) in Kolkata for further tracking.

"These suspicious radio signals have been picked up between 1 am and 3 am. The transmissions are in coded Bengali (with a Bangladeshi accent), Urdu, and Arabic. Sometimes, there are signals in another language that we couldn't identify. Whenever we asked those communicating to identify themselves, they went silent," said Ambarish Nag Biswas, secretary of the West Bengal Radio Club.

Ham radio operators have also been instructed to continue monitoring and report any similar signals should they occur again. 

According to Biswas, the first such signal was detected by a ham radio operator in Sodepur in the North 24 Parganas district in mid-December.

"Initially, we did not attach much importance to it. But then, similar signals were detected from Basirhat, Bongaon, and later from the South 24 Parganas district. Even during the Gangasagar Mela in mid-January, several ham radio users reported hearing these suspicious signals," he said.

On being asked about why these signals seemed suspicious, Biswas explained that their pattern and language usage were unusual.

"The global norm among ham radio users is that if a third party enters an ongoing communication, they must identify themselves using a radio identification code or radio call sign. But in these cases, whenever we asked for identification, the signals went silent. The pattern remained the same in all instances," he said.

Ham or amateur radio operators are licensed by the Union Ministry of Communications and are permitted to communicate on designated radio frequencies.

After Biswas shared his latest findings with his superiors in January, security agencies approached him to obtain further information regarding the coded signals.

 "I informed my superiors in New Delhi, who then forwarded the matter to the International Monitoring Station (Radio) Kolkata for investigation. We have also been asked to continue tracking these signals," he said.

A senior official from the Ministry of Communications confirmed that the matter had been forwarded to the International Monitoring Station (Radio) Kolkata for further examination. A senior official from a security agency, who visited Biswas' place for details, declined to comment on the matter.

When contacted, a senior BSF official acknowledged the seriousness of the situation, stating that unidentified radio chatter along the border is a matter of concern.

Under the circumstances, the Government of India will have to keep the border-guarding forces on high alert to prevent any infiltration bid.

Security sources told The Assam Tribune that the interim government in Bangladesh is in shambles, as it had failed to maintain the law and order situation, and even the residence of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who was instrumental in creating the country, had been burnt down.

The government has started the process of changing the textbooks, and even a decision has been taken to change the currency notes. In fact, Bangladesh is turning into an Islamic country.

Bangladesh's interim government is trying to get closer to Pakistan to please the radical elements. Sources pointed out that financially, Pakistan is in bad shape, and the country cannot afford any financial aid to Bangladesh.

Militarily also, the Pakistan government has its hands full fighting the Afghanistan-based Taliban, countrywide protests by the Tehreek-e-Insaf party and unrest in Balochistan.Under the circumstances, Bangladesh cannot expect much help from Pakistan even though senior Pakistani officers, including the Chief of Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), recently visited Bangladesh.

Sources pointed out that Bangladesh's economy is also in shambles, as more than 80 per cent of foreign investors have left the country. With the help of foreign investors, Bangladesh became one of the leading garment exporters in the world.

But with the investors going out, unemployment has increased sharply in the last few months. Aid from Japan has also stopped following the disturbance, and the United States of America has already threatened to stop aid to Bangladesh. If the US implements the threat, Bangladesh will be in a mess, sources added.

Sources said that as a short-term measure, the Government of India should increase the deployment of forces along the international border with Bangladesh to prevent any fresh infiltration.

Government and security agencies will have to launch an all-out offensive against the members of Ansar Bangla Team (ABT), which is a wing of Al Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent, who have already managed to sneak into India, sources added.

Sources admitted that ABT members are highly motivated persons, and they have the capacity to create nuisance. But at present, the ABT is not in a position to cause any major damage in India, sources asserted.

With inputs from news agency/ R Dutta Choudhury