In a body blow to the proscribed Ulfa (United Liberation Front of Asom), officials of Bangladeshi security agencies have arrested Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman and founder of the outfit. He was picked up on Monday and is said to have been handed over to the BSF in Tripura.
Rajkhowa’s arrest, coming on the heels of the recent arrest of two other senior Ulfa leaders, is a crippling blow to the organisation, according to sources in Indian security agencies. Now, it has just commander-in-chief Paresh Barua left to lead the outfit, the sources said.
On November 5, senior Ulfa leaders Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika were handed over by the Bangladeshi security agencies to their Indian counterparts. They were arrested in Dhaka.
“We are hopeful of more arrests,” said a senior official. Over the past few years, Bangladesh has become a safe haven for Islamic terrorists as well as for north-east insurgent groups.
“The trend is changing, thanks to a friendly government,’’ he added.
In the past few weeks, India has registered some impressive successes in its war against terror. Interestingly, most of these have been in Bangladesh. “It is unprecedented,” said a senior official in the security establishment. Things have changed after the Sheikh Hasina government assumed power in January this year, he added.
One of the important catches is Thadiyantavida Naseer, the mastermind of last year’s serial blasts in Bangalore. Naseer, who belongs to Kerala, is also believed to be a key player among India’s homegrown Islamic terror groups, including the Indian Mujahideen.
Naseer’s associate Shafas was also arrested by the Bangaldesh authorities.
Both were handed over to India a few days ago, but that was made public only on Wednesday.
Many in the security establishment believe that the arrest of Abdul Muthalib alias Muthu in Bangladesh is a bigger breakthrough. Muthu is believed to be the operational chief of HuJI-LeT network in Bangladesh, and is likely to have crucial information on the serial blasts in Indian cities and other terrorist attacks in recent years, the sources said.
Muthu’s name figured prominently during the probe into the David Coleman Headley network. He was the key contact in Bangladesh for the LeT’s Pakistan network, headed by Syed Abdul Rehman, which also handled Headley.
Muthu may also have helped Naseer and other Indian youths with safe hideouts and fake identities for their journey to Pakistan, besides providing explosives and other assistance.
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