4 members of a 'terrorist outfit' arrested from Bengal

The West Bengal CID has arrested four alleged members of a new "terrorist outfit" from Naxalbari area in north Bengal for "plotting" to conduct serial blasts in several government buildings and on railway tracks on August 28, a senior police officer said today.

The four arrested persons have been identified as chief Nirmal Roy and members Kandarpa Das, Ratan Adhikary and Dipi Prasad Roy of the newly formed terror outfit Greater Coochbehar Liberation Organisation (GCLO), he said.

The four were arrested by the CID sleuths late on Saturday night from Roy Para under Naxalbari police station area, he said.

The state CID had been tracking Nirmal Roy, a resident of Dhubri district in Assam for last few days after he posted a message on Facebook and Youtube about setting up of the new outfit GCLO with an objective to form a new state of Kamtapur/Greater Coochbehar through armed rebellion, the police officer said.

"On noticing Nirmal Roy's post on the social networking sites, we started tracking him and used a decoy to invite him for a meeting. He fell into the trap and we nabbed him along with the three others," he said.

The police said GCLO member Kandarpa Das is a resident of Ghogapar in Assam, while Ratan Adhikari belongs to North Khagrabari in Coochbehar district and Dipi Prasad Roy from Netajipara in Jalpaiguri district.

During their questioning, the four have revealed that they were planning to carry out serial blasts in several government offices and on various railway tracks on August 28, the day on which the Coochbehar Maharaja had signed the Merger Agreement with the then Governor General of India, C Rajagopalachari in 1949 and which is known as 'Merger Day'.

"We are in touch with the Assam police and are trying to find out if they had identified their targeted buildings and railway tracks for the serial blast on the Merger Day," he elaborated.

"Nirmal Roy had also planned to call a bandh on July 31. We are trying to find out who all he has roped in for the outfit, which he claims is his brainchild. We are also investigating whether GCLO has got assistance from other rebel groups," the officer said.

An FIR has been lodged Naxalbari police station regrading this, the officer added.