NE ultras setting up bases in Nepal

GUWAHATI, Jan 10 – “Terror funding”, that is funding received by the militant outfits of the North East region of the country has become a major cause of concern and the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has started a probe in this regard. Meanwhile, the militant groups have also started to establish their bases in Nepal to evade arrest by the police and security forces.

The commander of the Mobile Task Force (MTF) of the banned militant outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), N Priyo Kumar alias Kesho Meitie, who was arrested by the NIA, was staying in Siliguri area by using the false name of Raju Chetri and he was using fake identity papers including driving licenses, PAN cards etc.

Official sources said that Chetri had established bases in Nepal where he went often to evade arrest by the security forces. He was in fact nabbed on his way back to Siliguri from Nepal. Sources said that the militant leader was staying in the Siliguri area for some time with his family members by using the fake name and was responsible for the transaction of funds.

It may be mentioned here that earlier, Niranjan Hojai, the commander-in-chief of the DHD (J) was also arrested from Indo-Nepal border areas when he was returning to India from the neighbouring country and the recent arrest of the KCP leader proved it once again that the militant leaders of the North East are using the territory of Nepal to evade arrest by the security forces.

Meanwhile, the arrest of the KCP leader led to the investigation of the terror funding aspect as the investigations carried out so far by the NIA revealed that Priyo Kumar himself was collecting around two crore Rupees a year from extortions. The NIA is now investigating into the details of terror funding and the sources from where the militants are receiving money.

The NIA has already filed a charge sheet against Priyo Kumar and two other leaders of the KCP. In the charge sheet, the NIA mentioned that Priyo was responsible for a number of incidents of kidnapping for extortion, extortion from Government departments, killings if innocents etc. He was running the terror network from the bases in Indo-Nepal border areas, the charge sheet said.

The second person charge sheeted in connection was the case by the NIA was Y Ingo Singh, who was assigned with the task of collecting extorted money from different departments of the Government of Manipur and deposit in the account of Priyo through a network of internet banking transfer agents in Manipur.

The third person charge sheeted in the case was Gopendro Singh, the chief of the KCP(MC) and he was charged with waging war against the country. The KCP, under the chairmanship of Gopendra, was responsible for a number of major incidents of violence including attacks on Indian security force personnel, Government officials, bomb blasts in public places including an attack on the Governor’s House of Manipur, the NIA said in the charge sheet.