"We've definite technical inputs the weapons were meant for six to seven militant groups" in India's northeast, G.M. Srivastava, police chief of Tripura state, which borders Bangladesh, told AFP by telephone from the state capital Agartala.

He said the police information was based on radio intercepts and "hence our absolute conviction the arms were meant for the militants in the region."

The Indian statements came after Bangladesh announced an inquiry to probe the discovery last Friday of the South Asian nation's biggest-ever illegal haul of weaponry, which was found hidden in trucks near the port of Chittagong.

The chief minister of neighbouring Assam state, Tarun Gogoi, said the rebels could have been planning to use the weapons to disrupt India's elections due to start April 20. "The consequences would have been disastrous," he said.

The seizure included 300 rocket launchers, 840 rockets, 2,000 rocket launching tubes, 25,000 hand grenades long with sub-machine guns and semi-automatics.

Guerrillas in remote, mountainous Assam who have staged attacks during past elections have issued shoot-on-sight orders against anyone campaigning for the April/May polls.

Bangladesh's Home Affairs state minister, Lutfuzzaman Babar, has said the arms posed a "threat to national security" and were intended for domestic "subversive activity."

Dhaka has long denied New Delhi's charges that nearly 50 Indian rebel camps lie inside Bangladesh's border. It says it does not shelter any militants from outside its borders.

The issue has become a sensitive one between the normally friendly neighbours, who share 4,894-kilometre (3,059-mile) border.

There are around 30 militant groups in India's seven northeastern states with demands ranging from secession to greater autonomy and self-determination.

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