Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with Biplab Deb (left) during an election campaign at Agartala.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh along with Biplab Deb (left) during an election campaign at Agartala.

Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh lauded the anti-insurgency initiatives taken by the Sheikh Hasina-led Bangladesh government to crackdown on militant hideouts in Bangladesh stating that the act of the Bangladesh government has helped in throwing out insurgency in Tripura.

India’s Union Home Minister Minister Rajnath Singh was all praise for the Bangladesh government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina during an election rally of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) in Agartala, the State capital of Tripura, on Monday.

Rajnath Singh said, “A large number of militants from the Northeast India, including Tripura, had their hideouts in Bangladesh. The government of Bangladesh has wiped out those militant hideouts. And thus, peace has been restored in Tripura.”

He also added, “The wiping out of militancy in Tripura was possible owing to the goodwill between the Government of Bangladesh and the BJP-led Government of India.”

According to official sources, Tripura Election Commissioner Sriram Taranikanti had earlier asked the Indian Border Security Force (BSF) to intensify patrols along the border.

The order from the Tripura Election Commissioner reportedly came in the wake of a huge cache of arms and ammunition being recovered by Bangladesh’s Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) recently from the Chunarughat area.

During a major operation, the RAB recovered a total of 10 anti-tank rockets from the Satchhari National Park in Habiganj’s Chunarughat Upazila of Bangladesh.

RAB Legal and Media Wing Chief Mufti Mahmud Khan told the media that the rockets, which were Chinese-made, were recovered from a bunker.

Khan reportedly said, “The 40mm high explosive rockets can strike and destroy tanks and cars from 1,500-metre distance.”

However, Khan could not ascertain about the militant or terrorist groups who had kept the rockets hidden.

The area from where the rockets were recovered borders with the Northeastern State of Tripura.

The RAB officials claimed as per the media report that the weapons might have belonged to an Indian militant group.

He said that separatist groups in the border region might have kept the rockets hidden.

During the raid, a bunker was also discovered in the hills area of the national park.

Earlier also, the RAB personnel seized a large number of rocket launchers, machine guns, mortar shells and other explosives from Satchhari National Park.

The area from where the rockets were recovered borders with the Northeastern State of Tripura.

In 2014, a total of five raids were carried out by the RAB in the area bordering with Tripura. The bunker was found beneath a stable for goats during one of the raids.