Delhi, Dhaka will talk on terrorism, intel-info sharing

NEW DELHI: Anti-terror cooperation, sharing of intelligence inputs and how to jointly check cross-border smuggling will dominate the discussions between home secretaries of India and Bangladesh which begin on Monday.

Home secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and his Bangladeshi counterpart Mozammel Haque Khan and their teams will engage in intense discussions for two days to strengthen the anti-terrorism mechanism and sharing of information about terrorists.

Growing activities of terror group Islamic State in the subcontinent, increased presence of jihadi groups in Bangladesh and some Indian states and how to jointly tackle them will be discussed threadbare, sources said.

Both sides are expected to flag the menace of smuggling of cattle, narcotics and arms through the porous IndiaBangladesh border and is expected to find out ways to check them. Bangladesh may press for Indian cooperation in nabbing its most wanted criminals, especially those who were involved in war crimes and assassination of Bangladesh founder Sheikh Mujibur Rahman.

Both sides are expected to exchange notes about developments and investigations following the July 1 terror attack at a cafe in Dhaka. Bangladesh has been on the edge ever since the terror attack.

India started acting against controversial Mumbaibased Islamic preacher Zakir Naik after he came under the scanner when Bangladeshi newspaper `Daily Star' reported that one of the perpetrators of the terror attack in Dhaka, Rohan Imtiaz, ran propaganda on Facebook last year quoting Naik.

Naik is popular in Bangladesh through his Peace TV , although his preachings often demean other religions and even other Muslim sects.The Mumbai-based preacher has not returned to India ever since the controversy came to light.