Guwahati/New Delhi, Feb. 21: The advent of democracy in Bhutan has triggered security concerns in Assam.

Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) personnel stationed on the Indo-Bhutan border have launched an operation codenamed Night Dominance to prevent Maoists crossing over to escape a crackdown by the Royal Bhutan Army in the jungles of the Himalayan kingdom. The raids on Maoist camps is to pre-empt trouble during the March elections in Bhutan.

Sources in the SSB said that there was a danger of Maoists crossing from either side. “Maoists on the run in neighbouring Bhutan could cross over to the Indian side. Also, there is the possibility of Maoists belonging to the Communist Party of Bhutan (Marxist-Leninist-Maoist) trying to sneak into the Himalayan kingdom from the Indian side. The party is Nepal-based and there are reports that they have been using Indian border to cross over to Bhutan,” a senior official said.

Inspector-general H.C. Kharkwal confirmed that all SSB units were on maximum alert. “We have increased the level of troop deployment and arranged for modern equipment like night-vision devices and fast-moving vehicles. We need to be prepared to deal with any situation,” he said.

An intelligence official monitoring the Bhutan scene said at least three camps of the Bhutan Tiger Force — said to be the militant wing of the Communist Party of Bhutan — were busted and several Maoists arrested in the past few days. The rebels are believed to have sneaked into the Himalayan kingdom from Nepal through Assam.

Kharkwal said the SSB was focusing on the stretches through which infiltration was most likely, including the Bengal-Assam-Bhutan trijunction and Gossaigaon in Kokrajhar district.

Sources in the state home department said the increase in Maoist activity in Bhutan and along the border with Assam was discussed during a meeting on Tuesday between the king and the visiting Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and joint secretary (north) Preeti Saran.

The SSB’s special operation is likely to continue till the elections in Bhutan are over.

Militancy in Bhutan has been intrinsically linked to Assam and vice-versa ever since Ulfa and the National Democratic Front of Boroland set up camps in the Himalayan kingdom. Bhutan launched Operation All Clear in December 2003 to flush out the Assam militants.

Maoist elements in Assam, who became overly active after the episode in which a mob attacked Adivasi rallyists at Beltola in Guwahati last year, are believed to have established contact with their Nepal counterparts. “Bhutan will eventually turn into their meeting place if the situation is not handled immediately,” an intelligence official said.