Bhutan: no to ULFA, captives to India

The next batch, sources said, will have a prize catch in the form of Bhimkanta Borgohain, the 70-year-old political advisor of ULFA who sustained injuries yesterday in the Bhutanese Army’s operations.

While the Indian Army’s Binaguri-based 20 Division is on standby in case its Bhutanese counterpart suffers any reverses, latest intelligence reports indicate that the Royal Army is dominating the battle-field and pushing the militants towards the dragnet across the border.

The Bhutanese Army is backed by troops from the Siliguri-based 33 Corps and a brigade of the 57 Mountain Division. The eastern shoulder of the Bhutan border is being handled by the Tezpur-based IV Corps with the overall operation controlled by the Eastern Army Command.

However, the key coordination between the Bhutanese Army and its Indian counterpart is being carried out at Thimpu with Major General S S Dhillon, Commandant of Indian Military Training Team (IMTRAT), being in constant touch with the Chief Operation Officer (COO) of the Royal Army.

General Dhillon, who has commanded a Rashtriya Rifles unit in Baramulla, Kashmir, was sent to Thimpu two months ago. ‘‘Any request pertaining to logistics, communication, medical evacuation and surveillance from the Bhutanese Army’s COO, who is the point man for King Jigme Wangchuk, is being implemented without delay,’’ said an Army Commander.

While New Delhi approached Thimpu with the idea of the counter-insurgency operation last October, the current crackdown was discussed during the visit of Army Chief General N C Vij to Bhutan this May.

During that visit, Vij met the King, Prime Minister Lyonpo Kinzang Dorji and COO of the Bhutanese Army. The political groundwork was done during the visit of National Security Advisor Brajesh Mishra and External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha in April and August this year.

The green signal was given after the meeting of Wangchuk and Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee this September.

Sources quoting Bhutanese officials said that the Himalayan kingdom had already wasted valuable time by negotiating with ULFA over the past two years and announced that the ongoing ‘‘short but decisive’’ military operation would be called off only after all militants were flushed out.

Meanwhile, a desperate ULFA today lobbed a grenade at a CRPF camp at Maibela in Sibsagar district, close to the native village of ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa. Two CRPF jawans were injured in the attack.

The Assam government has alerted the oil and tea industry in view of intelligtence reports that the ULFA might launch stray attacks out of frustration.