New Delhi, November 06 2008: THE CENTRE today decided to set up an intelligence co-ordination group for northeastern states for "better sharing of information and implementation of inputs at ground level effectively".

"We have decided to set up an intelligence co-ordination group which will institutionalise all inputs and put them into action at the ground level," Union home secretary Madhukar Gupta told reporters at the end of a three-hour meeting today.

The conclave, chaired by national security adviser M.K.Narayanan, was attended by cabinet secretary K.M.Chandrashekar, army officers, chief secretaries and directors-general of police from the eight northeastern states to overhaul security arrangements in the region.

The intelligence co-ordination group will streamline services in the states, made necessary after the serial blasts in Agartala and Assam.

"The idea is to put information into a systemic format," said Gupta.

A spurt in alliances forged between local militant outfits in the Northeast and fundamentalist groups in the Bangladesh has made it necessary to refurbish the intelligence set-up.

Maoist groups, too, have made forays into the Northeast.

A source told The Telegraph that rebel groups in the Northeast have strengthened ties with jihadi outfits in Bangladesh.

Even Maoists are known to be procuring arms from northeastern outfits.

Gupta said the scale of violence had increased and the venue has changed from remote villages to crowded urban areas.

The material used in the blasts in Guwahati � RDX � has links with earlier explosions in Agartala.

Mobile phones were used to trigger the serial blasts in Agartala while remote-controlled devices were used to explode bombs in Assam last week, sources said.

Rarely was such technology been used by militant groups in the Northeast in the last 50 years, government sources added.

Ulfa is a common thread for Huji and the Bangladeshi intelligence agency, Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI).

The DGFI is considered an extension of the ISI.

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