IANS

Kolkata, Jul 15: India has proposed to Bangladesh joint border patrolling along the international boundary, the Border Security Force (BSF) chief said here Tuesday.

"We've given a draft proposal to our counterpart Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) for carrying out coordinated border patrolling activities along the Indo-Bangladesh border. The proposal was received by the BDR authorities with great enthusiasm," BSF director general M.L. Kumawat said.

He said BDR chief Maj. Gen. Mohammed Mainul Islam would visit India in December this year and he promised to look into the issue with great importance.

Kumawat, who returned from Bangladesh after a joint DG-level talks, also pointed out that BSF had given a list of 97 camps of different militant groups, including front ranking Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) and United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) that were operating from Bangladesh.

"The response was very positive and they have promised to take action against these camps and unlawful people operating from Bangladesh soil.

"A list of 1,686 offenders, of which 77 are most wanted, has also been handed over to the BDR. Of these total 77 most wanted criminals, 10 have Interpol red corner notice against them," he said.

Kumawat said the terror camps were operating in India's northeastern states and located at various unfenced and inhospitable patches of Bangladesh side, where there is a security deficit.

The two countries share a 4,096-km-long international border of which 2,345 km has already been fenced off.

"The work to fence off 433 km of border is now in progress. And the BSF is also trying to use advanced technology to man 1,100 km of riverine border which is lying unfenced so far," he said.