Banned outfit KLO releases video ; warns government of severe consequence if demands not met

The Kamtapur Liberation Organization - a banned militant group active in western Assam and northern Bengal on December 2 released a video from an undisclosed location and warned the Government of severe consequences if their demands are not met. 

KLO commander Jeevan Singh in the video message said that Kamtapur was an independent state before 1949 and further demanded the government to return their state as per the Cooch Behar Merger Agreement. 

The KLO commander reminded the government of the Cooch Behar Merger Agreement that recognized Kamtapur as a "full-fledged constituent state of Union of India"."The most crucial point of the Cooch Behar Merger Agreement was that Kamtapur was recognised as a full-fledged constituent state of the Union of India... but, in 1950, then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru made Kamtapur a autonomous state of the Union of India. After 1971 (and the creation of Bangladesh) lakhs of refugees - Bengali-speaking people - were dumped and given shelter in Kamtapur , which has created a problem for the state.

He said that Kamtapur has lost its legacy after social and economic exploitation.

“This is our land and our people are suffering. They arrest us . They torture us. They exploit us” He added. 

 Founded in 1995, the KLO advocates for the creation of a Kamtapur state - drawn out of six Bengal districts (Cooch Behar, Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Malda, and North and South Dinajpur) and four from western Assam (Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, and Goalpara).