The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (abbr. KLO) is a militant organisation based in Northeast India whose objective is to unite the Kamtapur nation from West Bengal and Assam. The proposed state is to comprise all districts in West Bengal and four contiguous districts of Assam which are Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, North and South Dinajpur and Malda, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara, Kishanganj districts in Bihar, and Jhapa District in Nepal. The KLO was formed to address problems of the Koch Rajbongshi people such as large-scale unemployment, land alienation, perceived neglect of Kamtapuri language, identity, and grievances of economic deprivation.[2]
| Kamtapur Liberation Organisation | |
|---|---|
 Flag of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation | |
| Leaders | Jibon Singha Milton Burman (POW) Tom Adhikary (POW) |
| Dates of operation | 1995–present |
| Allegiance | United National Liberation Front of Western South East Asia |
| Motives | Establish an independent state of Kamtapur |
| Active regions | Northeast India and West Bengal |
| Ideology | Kamtapuri nationalism Separatism Socialism |
| Major actions | Bombings |
| Opponents |  India[1] Bangladesh Muslim United Liberation Tigers of Assam (1996–2016) al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent (2016–present) |
History
editThe beginning of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) can be traced to the attempts of certain members of the Koch Rajbongshi people belonging to the All Kamtapur Students Union (AKSU) to organise an armed struggle for a separate Kamtapur nation. For this purpose, they approached the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). The KLO came into existence on 28 December 1993.[citation needed]
On 26 December 2013, a bomb blast took place in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal that killed five persons and injured five others. Militants of KLO are suspected to have been behind the bombing.[3]
Leadership and organisation
editTamir Das alias Jibon Singha is the chairman of the KLO. He was arrested in October 1999 but regained control over the outfit after he was released by the Assam Police in a bid to make the other KLO cadres surrender. Milton Burman alias Mihir Das is the second in command of the outfit.[citation needed]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Banned Terrorist Organisations". Archived from the original on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP) on KLO. satp.org.
- ^ "Five killed in blast in Bengal's Jalpaiguri". Daily News and Analysis. 26 December 2013. Retrieved 26 December 2013.