A porous border with Bangladesh; its reluctance to close down camps established by Indian terrorist groups, and lack of security forces are hampering Tripura's fight against insurgency.

Two banned terrorist groups -- the All Tripura Tigers Force and the National Liberation Front of Tripura -- have been on the rampage in this border state, which shares an 856 km-long boundary with Bangladesh.

Statistics with the police say 119 people were killed in the state between January 1 and May 15 this year. Sixty-five had died during the corresponding period last year.

Between January 1 and May 15 last year, terrorists had abducted 56 people. This year the figure is 86.

Chief Minister Manik Sarkar says: "Militants are desperate to prove their existence. So they have stepped up their activities, especially after we won the elections."

The Left Front, led by the Communist Party of India-Marxist, had retained power in the February 26 assembly elections.

Sarkar says the terrorists are giving vent to their frustration at not being able to prevent the Left Front from coming back to power.

What Sarkar is worried about is the active support that the terrorists are getting inside Bangladesh.

"We have information that ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) activities directed against India are on the rise in Bangladesh. ISI men, along with Al-Qaeda operatives, are imparting training at several of these camps," he says.

Adds Chief Secretary V Thulasidas: "The camps are located in Chittagong, Rangamati, Cox's Bazaar, Habiganj, Khracherri and Comilla districts of Bangladesh, besides safe houses in Dhaka.

"Elements within Bangladesh Army and fundamentalist jihadi groups directed by ISI operatives help train these militants. Several new recruits have been taken to Karachi for training in use of arms and explosives."

Sophisticated weapons are also being smuggled into India from various places in Bangladesh, including Cox's Bazaar, Sylhet and Chittagong, and ISI operatives are playing a key role in this, they add.

It is, therefore, no surprise that besides putting pressure on Dhaka to close down these camps, Sarkar wants the Centre to double the number of Border Security Force battalions deployed along the Tripura-Bangladesh border; expedite the fencing work along the entire 856 km stretch and re-deploy the army for counter-insurgency operations in the state.

"There is an urgent need to have the three battalions of the army back in Tripura to combat the insurgent activities," Thulasidas says.

The battalions were withdrawn for deployment in Operation Parakram last year.

"The CI grid is incomplete without the presence of the army," Thulasidas says.

Although the BSF mans the international boundary with Tripura, the CI operations are largely conducted by elements of the Central Reserve Police Force, the state's armed police and the Tripura State Rifles.

"Our force levels are not adequate to meet all the requirements," Thulasidas says.

New Delhi has taken up the matter with Dhaka. On May 11, goaded into action by repeated protests from northeastern states, New Delhi handed Dhaka a list of 155 terrorist training camps operating there, many with the help of the ISI and Al-Qaeda, and asked it to shut them down.

India also sought deportation of 85 insurgents. Whether Dhaka takes any concrete action remains to be seen.