With heavy snowfall in Jammu and Kashmir during winter, terrorists from across the border find it difficult to infiltrate and indulge in subversive activities in the Valley and beyond. Their preferred route, according to intelligence agencies, becomes Karachi-Dhaka-Kolkata for access to target destinations. Alerted by the Central Intelligence Wings, the Special Task Force (STF) is keeping close watch on the possibility of Pakistani terrorists crossing Indo-Bangla border for moving to Jammu and Kashmir through Kolkata and other vulnerable areas of the State of West Bengal.
The alert comes in the wake of the recent warning by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) following their grilling of David Headley, an American, and his associates Tahawwur Hussain Rana, a Canadian born Pakistani, for their suspect role in Lashkar-e-Toiba’s 26/11 Mumbai mayhem. The FBI probe came out with the information that some Pak based terrorists had entered the country to plan and execute deadly strikes. Two members of a terrorist outfits were arrested in Pune, details about them have not been shared by the security agencies with the media on tactical grounds.
Adverse climatic conditions and heavy security presence in Jammu and Kashmir have prompted the terrorists to skip PoK route, the intelligence inputs suggested and added that despite pro-Indian stance of the Awami League land government in Dhaka, there still exists emotional support bases and logistic help for the terrorists from a section of opposition political and fundamental forces in Bangladesh as well as from the jihadi and fundamentalist forces, the sources pointed out.
STF in close coordination with the Central and the state intelligence agencies has activated their network across the border areas with Bangladesh and probable refuges of disruptive elements in towns and cities to keep tab on their movement. Some are already on the scanner of STF, the sources added. BSF all along the Bangladesh border has been put on maximum vigilance.
Sensitive and potential trouble areas of Kolkata which include New Market, Park Street, Tiljala, Topsia and Kidderpore are constantly under surveillance. Since the possibility of terrorists sneaking through Nepal border can not be ruled out, agencies concern are kept on alert. Nepal has emerged as the cockpit of anti-Indian activities mainly instigated by ISI which has its presence in every terrorist group as revealed recently by the former president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf while replying to questions by the American officials in Washington on the contacts of the secret agencies with terrorists as telecast by CNN.
Of concern is the fact that the capital of West Bengal has been a safe sanctuary for several terrorists in the past for carrying out blasts elsewhere. North-east insurgents too have been tracked down from different parts of the city. Security and intelligence agencies have been able to trace a fake passport issuing centre in Kalyani to facilitate movement of cross-border terrorists.
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