The authorities in the north-eastern Indian state of Assam say a senior separatist rebel leader, Rustab Choudhury, has been killed in an encounter with police in the neighbouring state of West Bengal. The head of police intelligence in Assam, Khagen Sarmah, told the BBC that Rustab Choudhury, the finance secretary of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) was killed after a fierce encounter with police near Kumargram in the northern part of West Bengal. The Ulfa is under pressure to dismantle its bases in Bhutan because the royal government has asked them to leave or face a military offensive.
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