Major General
Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, the Director General of the
Bangladesh Rifles (BDR), in a talk with the Director General of the
Border Security Force (BSF) Ajay Raj Sharma in 2004 said that the extremist group Banga Sena was carrying out
terrorist and
secessionist activities against Bangladesh from its bases in the Indian state of
West Bengal. Khodeza Begum in an article in the
Global Politician accused
India of helping to organize the Banga Sena. In March 2006, a senior official of the home ministry of Bangladesh expressed concern over the anti-Bangladesh activities by the Banga Sena. Regarding this he added that Bangladesh wants a peaceful border with neighboring India and the situation has vastly improved following coordinated border patrolling by both countries. A Bangladeshi official stated that the organization is a "threat to the sovereignty of Bangladesh". More than 400 members of the Banga Sena were arrested in India on 18 February 2003, for trying to cross over into Bangladesh from the district of
North 24 Parganas in southern West Bengal. According to police sources, activists belonging to the organization began gathering at the Indo-Bangladesh border at Halencha, North 24 Parganas in the jurisdiction of the Bagda police station since morning that day. In September 2007, the representatives of two
NGOs, Diphu Citizen Peace Forum and Karbi
Human Rights Watch, in the
Karbi Anglong District of Assam said that the Banga Sena was involved in
extortion and it could pose a threat to the peace in the region. Regarding the activities of the Banga Sena, the Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh Shamsher Mobin Chowdhury made it clear that his country will not tolerate any statement or move against its territory or sovereignty. The All India Minority Forum, an organization for religious minorities in India, also expressed concern over this organization. ==See also==