Rs 318 ticket to terror?

All it takes for a cross-border terrorist to travel from Bangladesh to Sealdah railway station in the heart of Kolkata is Rs 318.

According to recent state government Intelligence reports accessed by The Statesman, illegal immigrants, including certain suspected terrorists named in the report, pay a mere Rs 18 to enter Bongaon, a border village in India, through Benapole in Bangladesh. In Bongaon, the illegal immigrants pay another Rs 300 to reach Sealdah station.

Suspected terrorists from the Pakistan-based militant group Harkat-ul-Mujahiddin are using this "safe route" to enter India, paying the fee to touts who safely transport them to their destinations. From Sealdah, these individuals can easily travel anywhere else in the country.

"They disperse to various parts, including Rajasthan, Punjab and Assam," says the report. "But most of these trespassers prefer to go to Malda town first." A senior intelligence official said: "Before venturing out to the rest of the country it is easy for the suspected terrorists to find a hideout in Malda. Also, it is easy to enter rural Malda via Kolkata after carrying out terrorist activities elsewhere in the country."

Reports that terrorists use Kolkata as a transit route are nothing new. Back in 2010, Calcutta High Court, worried about the security of the general public in West Bengal, expressed concerns that the state was becoming a "safe haven for terrorists."

According to Intelligence experts, more than 74 "terror masterminds” from Bangladesh are hiding in and operate from various Indian cities. Interpol has already issued arrest warrants for most of them.

Central Intelligence agencies have received specific information, the official said, that absconding Bangladesh terrorists, including Fateh Ali, Kamrul Hassan, Kala Jahangir and Jabbar Munna, have established links with separatist and jihadist groups in Jammu and Kashmir.

Courtesy: http://thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=390625&catid=35