Four arrested for floating terror group in north Bengal

Four people from the Naxalbari area of north Bengal were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) for floating a terror organisation — Greater Coochbehar Liberation organisation (GCLO) — on late Saturday evening.

An official statement from the CID said that the intention was to form a separate state of Kamtapur by means of armed rebellion.

Earlier, organisations such as Kamtapur People's Party (KPP) set up in 1996 and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) set up in 1995 had been formed for a separate state of Rajbonghshi people, to be carved out of the districts of north Bengal and some districts of Assam.

The four had been identified as Dipi Prasad Roy, Nirmal Roy, Ratan Adhikary and Kandarpa Das. CID officials said that Nirmal had claimed to be the head of the organisation and that he had called a bandh on July 31.

"A few days ago, Nirmal Roy of Assam posted on Facebook and YouTube that he had launched a new terrorist organisation Greater Coochbehar Liberation Organisation. CID kept track and deployed a decoy to invite him for a meeting where he was arrested," the statement read. An investigation has been initiated by Naxalbari PS. CID is yet to establish any link of GCLO with KLO or KPP.

Kamtapur was a sovereign state from the middle of the 13th century to the end of the 15th century.