Over 2,000 heavily armed 'jihadis' have entered India, Bangladesh warns India; patrolling increased

New Delhi: The government of Bangladesh has warned of an increase in infiltration of militants into India from across its eastern border, raising an alarm for the security and intelligence mechanism.

According to 'The Times of India', the Bangladesh government has informed the Home Ministry    that over 2,000 Hujl and JMB militants had possibly crossed into the Indian side from the Bangladesh border and are hiding in West Bengal, Assam and Tripura. 

The Bangladesh government's report also suggests a marked increase in the number of infiltrators, which the intelligence agencies pegged between 800 and 659 for 2014-15.

The development comes on the back of findings by National Investigation Agency, which had found terror links and the direct role of JMB in the October 2014 Burdwan blast at Khagragarh in which two suspected terrorists were killed.

An alert has been sounded in view of the report and patrolling has been increased on the eastern borders.

Speaking on the matter, Additional Director-General of Police (SB), Assam, Pallab Bhattcharyya, said, 'There is certainly an increase in terrorist activity because over the last six months, we have arrested 54 JMB operatives... We have formed a high-powered committee of top police officers and MLAs to check infiltration. They visit the border regularly and conduct meetings with security forces.''

However, what is baffling the Indian authorities is a report that JMB secretary Iftadur Rehman had entered India on 12 January this year on a fake passport and has established contact with other militants in Assam and Bengal.

Besides this, a meeting between jihadis from Assam, West Bengal and New Delhi and the top JMB and HuJI leadership also took place in the Mymensingh district of Bangladesh on January 18, a senior official said.