KLO chief booked under UAPA for calling Mamata 'outsider'

Terror group KLO's chief Jibon Singha could be heard backing Union Minister John Barla's statement demanding a separate state in a purported video

Terror group KLO's chief Jibon Singha was booked under the stringent UAPA for allegedly terming Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee an "outsider" and referring to the West Bengal government and the Centre as "foreign" governments, a police officer said on Monday.

Besides the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), the Special Task Force of the state also imposed charge of sedition against Singha alias Tamir Das for making the comments, a video of which went viral on social media, he said.

In the purported video, the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) chief could be heard backing Union Minister John Barla's statement demanding a separate state comprising the areas in the northern parts of West Bengal.

"We have started a case against Jibon Singha in connection with the video where is seen saying such things. We are trying to find out the source of the video and are investigating the matter," an officer of the STF said.

KLO, declared a terrorist group by the Centre, came into existence in 1995 after members of the Koch-Rajbongshi community of the All Kamtapur Students Union (AKSU) organised an armed struggle for liberation, demanding a separate Kamtapur nation, carved out of India.

As per their demand, the Kamtapur nation would include six districts of West Bengal -- Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda, four districts of Assam, and Bihar's Kishanganj district, and Jhapa district of Nepal.