SSB to guard Indo-Bhutan border
NEW DELHI, Jun 2 (UNI) The Special Services Bureau (SSB), a para-military force which recently came under the home ministry, has been designated as the border guarding force for the Indo-Bhutan border to ensure that anti-national elements do not use Bhutanese territory as a base or sanctuary for any anti-India activity.
An official spokesman today said the home ministry is also examining a proposal to raise the strength of the SSB to meet the increasing demand of guarding India's borders.
The steps were being taken following reports that anti-national elements from the Northeast and North Bengal had established training camps in Bhutanese territory and were carrying out anti-India activities from there.
The reports said ULFA, BDFB and KLO were using the 661-KM border, covering Sikkim, West Bengal, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, for infiltrating into and exfiltrating from India.
Cadres of these organisations have found safe haven in the dense hilly forests of Bhutan for base camps and for training and other logistic support.
The SSB, which has been guarding the Indo-Nepal border, has within less than a year, recovered contraband, including fake currency and other narcotics worth Rs 5 crore, and arrested 145 smugglers and four suspected ISI agents.
The SSB, initially raised to help in civil works, restoration of law and order and other security-related tasks in border villages, was recently brought under the control of the union home ministry.
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