IPCS Article no. 1098 Date 18 August 2003 Bogra Ammo Haul and Cross-Border Links of Northeast Terrorists Anand Kumar Institute for Conflict Management The Bogra ammunition haul has been sensational for two reasons. First, it was the biggest ammunition haul so far in Bangladesh since its formation after the War of Liberation. But most importantly it also gave substance to Indian allegations that Bangladeshi territory was being used for subversive activities against it. ? On June 27, Bangladeshi police recovered 62,112 rounds of Chinese rifle bullets and 120 kgs of explosives from an abandoned truck in the precincts of one Awami League (AL) leader Syed Akhlakur Rahman Pintu?s house at Jogarpara village of Kahalu Police Station in Bogra. Subsequent raids in the neighbouring areas yielded more ammunition and explosives which were later found to be deadly RDX. The total amount recovered, currently stands at about one lakh bullets and nearly 200 kgs of explosives. ? Various media reports have indicated that the ammunition seized was being smuggled for the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF), a terrorist group operating in the northeastern Indian State of Tripura. The terrorists reportedly intended to send the contraband to the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area first. After that, they intended to smuggle it further across the border into Tripura. The cache of arms was sent from the outfit?s Satcherri headquarters in Habiganj district of Bangladesh, just across the West Tripura district. Bangladesh police also arrested Kishore Debbarma and his two associates, Jogesh Debbarma and Chitta Debbarma, from the Teliapara area of Habiganj district who belonged to the ATTF. An AK-47 rifle and a wireless set were also recovered from Jogesh Debbarma?s residence. ? However, instead of cracking down on the smugglers and gunrunners involved, the Bangladesh government tried to use this incident as a pretext to victimize the opposition Awami League. In later seizures, people belonging to almost all parties including the Jamaat-e-Islami of Bangladesh (JIB), the Jatiya Party (JP) and the ruling Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) were found to be involved. The home minister told the Jatiya Sangsad (parliament) after the first haul, that it had exposed the Awami League's plot to destabilise the government. Similar statements were made by the country?s Prime Minister Begum Khalida Zia. ? To suppress the facts, the government also tried to gag the media. It started harassing local mediamen who dared to report differently from the government version of events..? Top police officials interrogated senior executives of private satellite channels, Channel-i and ATN Bangla. ATN had reported that the ammunition and explosives were being smuggled out to India from Chittagong, while the Channel-i bulletin had reported the arrest of a few Jamaat-e-Islami workers in connection with the haul. Police officials and the Secretary-General of the Jamaat and Social Welfare Minister, Ali Ahsan Mohammad Mujahid, filed two general diaries (GDs) against these news channels. Further, Jamaat leaders also threatened the reporters. ? The possibility of use of these weapons by the local left-wing extremists was also ruled out as no extremist or armed communist groups exist in Kahalu. There are armed extremists in Atrai, Singra, Bagmara, Tarash and Nandigram areas. But they kill people with knifes, pipe-guns or cut-rifles, not sophisticated arms like Kalashnikov and Chinese rifles. ? Though more than a month has passed, the police have failed to make any progress in the investigation because of political interference. Of the more than 30 people arrested, only two remain in custody. Intelligence agencies have refused to make public anything about their investigations citing national security. ? The Bogra ammo haul has further substantiated Indian allegations that terrorists from its northeast are using Bangladeshi territory for anti-India subversive activities and have international links. Investigators believe that the incidents had nothing to do with the internal politics of the Awami League and BNP. However, the lack of political will to bring out the truth and punish the criminals is clearly visible. The attempts of the Bangladeshi government to create a political controversy over the incident has only diverted attention and helped the real culprits. But this illegal trade in arms is harmful for the interests of Bangladesh as well. A part of these smuggled arms are used inside Bangladesh leading to a serious decline in the law and order condition. This situation can not be improved unless a check is put on the illegal arms trade going on in the region.