Kolkata

The Indian army which had a launched a counter-insurgency operations against National Democratic Front of Bodoland- Songbijit (NDFB-S) militants who massacred over 78 people belonging to both adivasi (tribal) and Bodo communities on December 23 will soon extend its operations to West Bengal which borders Kokrajhar district in the west and Arunachal Pradesh bordering Sonitpur district in the east.

“The NDFB-S militants might have escaped into Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh and the north Bengal area of West Bengal. We will soon start our operations in these neighbouring states and talks are on. The external affairs ministry will be taking up the matter with Bhutan, but locally, the state police are already in contact with the Bhutanese,” ministry of defence official Lieutenant Colonel S. Newton said.

Apart from 66 columns of Army, 50 additional companies of central paramilitary forces and few quadrants of helicopters have fanned out in the northern part of Assam in search of the militants. The army has also imposed restrictions on civilian movement along the border with Assam.

“In view of the operations being carried out at the inter-state borders and other parts of Assam, necessary directives has been issued to the districts administration to restrict movement of its civilians in the neighbouring state,” said an official from the office of Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Also all arms licence holders were directed not to carry weapons during their journeys within or outside the state. Hunting in the jungles of the inter-state border with Assam was also banned as the people may be mistaken for militants by the Army and the security forces, the order cautioned.

The administration in states like Bengal and Arunachal Pradesh has been asked not to allow large gatherings in view of the tense situation.

Gogoi on Sunday chaired a high-level meeting and reviewed both the situation for relief and rehabilitation and security arrangements and issued instructions towards improving the situation and take effective steps for maintaining law and order and providing relief materials to the affected people.

“The overall situation in the violent-hit affected areas of Sonitpur and BTAD has remained peaceful with no fresh incidents of violence reported from any part of the state during the last 48 hours. Curfew has been relaxed in all the districts following gradual improvement in the overall situation. Camp inmates have been found to be ready to go back in a number of places,” he said.

The army on Sunday came close to making its first breakthrough when troops discovered a makeshift camp in a forest in Patgaon of Kokrajhar district, which it claimed to have been used by the Bodo militants.

“The militants had escaped but our troops recovered eight bikes, one of which was used by the outfit’s area commander Jablang,” the official said.