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Burmese rebels produced in Calcutta High Court
A group of 34 rebels from Burma's Arakan state arrested by the Indian Navy in 1998 were produced in Calcutta High Court, India on Wednesday.
Syed Ali Mujtaba
Mizzima News: 2 November, 2006
A group of 34 rebels from Burma's Arakan state arrested by the Indian Navy in 1998 were produced in Calcutta High Court, India on Wednesday.
Their trial was shifted to Calcutta High Court from a Port Blair court in Andaman-Nicobar archipelago on the orders of the Supreme Court after appeals by human rights organisations that the alleged rebels had no consular access in Port Blair.
The rebels, who belong to the National Unity Party of Arakan (NUPA) were brought to the city on Tuesday from Port Blair under tight security and were produced in court.
The court remanded them to judicial custody till November 14. The rebels were lodged in a high-security jail after their remand.
According to the Indian Army, the Arakanese were arrested in Landfall Island in the Nicobar in February 1998, during "Operation Leech" conducted by it.
A huge quantity of arms, ammunition and explosives were reportedly seized from them.
However, the rebels claim they were betrayed by Indian military intelligence after they were used by them for several years to monitor Chinese naval activity.
The Centre had directed the CBI to inquire into the case in 2004.