Rebel leader Malkhan Singh nabbed in Bengal

Malkhan Singh alias Madhav Mondal, a top leader of the rebel Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), has been arrested from West Bengal's Malda district, police said Sunday.

He was arrested late Saturday from a jungle near Habibpur village in the district.

Malkhan Singh was said to be the commandant of his organisation in Malda. Several cases of terrorist activities are pending against him.

"He was arrested last night and we have seized an automatic rifle, some ammunition and cash, including some fake Indian currency notes, from him. He will be presented before a court today," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Malda Range) Satyajit Banerjee said.

Blamed for a string of attacks in northern West Bengal, the KLO has been demanding a separate Kamtapur state comprising six districts - Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda - of West Bengal and four districts - Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara - of Assam.