Jeevan Singha, the self-styled chief of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation, a banned terror outfit, has reportedly released a video clip seeking cooperation from chief minister Mamata Banerjee to create a separate state.
The six-and-a-half-minute-long video has been released ahead of Mamata’s visit to north Bengal on Monday.
“I’d like to appeal to Mamata Banerjee not to oppose our demand (for separate state) and instead cooperate with us in creating Kamtapur or Greater Cooch Behar state, which has been our longstanding demand. If she cooperates, the Koch Rajbanshis of this region will shower flowers on her, bless and appreciate her,” Singha is seen saying in the clip.
The Telegraph has not independently verified the authenticity of the clip.
In the late 1990s, the terror outfit was floated by Singha, who hails from Kumargram block of Alipurduar district, with a number of Rajbanshi youths to start an armed struggle for a separate state.
The outfit, which had the patronage of Ulfa in its initial years, faced a setback in 2003 as the Royal Bhutan Army launched an operation to flush out Indian militant groups.
Gradually, KLO activities stopped in north Bengal but over the past couple of years, it is reportedly trying to regroup.
In the past few months, a number of trained militants newly inducted into the KLO have been arrested. Singha is suspected to be staying in Myanmar with some other armed cadres.
In July last year, a case under the UAPA was filed against Singha for referring to Mamata as an “outsider.”
In the current video clip, he again called the Bengal government an “outsider” a number of times, pointing out that a number of MPs and MLAs of the BJP are also flagging the statehood demand. “A number of MPs and MLAs from the region like John Barla, Nisith Pramanik and Jayanta Roy have advocated in favour of the demand,” said Singha.
Police and other security agencies are on alert, said a senior police officer.
“Some additional security measures have been incorporated in specific locations. Exchange of information with different agencies is also going on,” said a senior police officer.
