Five terrorists belonging to Manipur and Nagaland-based extremist outfits were handed over to Assam Police by Bangladeshi police after they completed their 13 year jail term in that country, a police official here said.
"Bangladesh police handed over the five militants to Assam Police through the Sutarkandi border (in Karimganj district of Assam) yesterday (Tuesday). Now these militants are being interrogated by Assam Police and intelligence officials," said Karimganj police chief Gaurav Upadhyay.
He said that the Bangladesh police told the Assam police that the five were arrested at Kulaura border in Bangladesh's Sylhet district with some explosives in 2004 and were since in a jail there.
"The guerillas, all aged around 40, however, told the police interrogators that they are not militants," the police official said.
The Assam Police would soon hand over the five to the Manipur and Nagaland Police. Of the five, four are belonging to Manipur's People's Liberation Army (PLA) while the remaining one's identity was not yet known.
Bangladesh had earlier handed over several top northeast India militants to the Indian authorities including banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) leaders Anup Chetia (2015) and Arabinda Rajkhowa (2009) and outlawed All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) supremo Ranjit Debbarma.
Four Indian northeastern states - Tripura (856 km), Meghalaya (443 km), Mizoram (318 km) and Assam (263 km)- share a border with Bangladesh.
--IANS
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