The 53-year-old, whose real name is Rajib Rajkonwar, was one of the founder leaders of the ULFA along with commander in chief Paresh Baruah. The ULFA was formed on April 7, 1979 to lead armed struggle to 'free Assam from the clutches of colonial Indian rule'.
United Liberation Front of Asom chief Arabinda Rajkhowa was released from the Guwahati Central Jail, two days after his bail plea was granted by a designated TADA court.
The location of United Liberation Front of Asom chief Arabinda Rajkhowa and the outfit's military deputy-in-chief Raju Barua besides eight others apprehended by the Assam police is being kept a closely guarded secret.
Security concerns prompted the authorities to hold a camp court inside the Central jail in Guwahati on Thursday afternoon for production of arrested United Liberation Front of Assam Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Raju Barauh and Rajkhowa's body guard Raja Bora.
Self-styled chairman of the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa and ten other ULFA cadres, who were handed over to India by Bangladesh on Friday, will be produced in a court in Guwahati on Saturday afternoon and could be charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.
The government on Wednesday said the United Liberation Front of Asom's top leader Arabinda Rajkhowa was "apprehended" by the Border Security Force on the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border and later arrested by the Assam police as he was wanted in connection with several cases
The United Liberation Front of Assam's anti-talk faction on Wednesday 'removed' Arabinda Rajkhowa as its chairman and 'appointed' acting chairman Abhijit Asom as its new leader.
In a development that signals the beginning of political dialogue with the United Liberation Front of Asom faction led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa in a short time, the pro-talks ULFA group on Tuesday formally declared 'ceasefire' with the security forces.
"I cannot confirm or deny the news." That is how Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi reacted to United Liberation Front of Assam chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa's arrest news amid emerging contradicting reports.
United Liberation Front of Assam 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, currently in a jail in Bangladesh, will soon be handed over to India, the group's 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa claimed on Thursday.
The anti-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam on Sunday made the 'last' call to its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, to come back to the fold of the parent outfit (unbound ULFA) and resume the responsibility of the 'chairman' by giving up the 'unrealistic' path of dialogue with the government to protect the identify of Assamese people without attaining 'sovereignty' for Assam.
The top leadership of United Liberation Front of Asom on Monday held talks with the government and discussed various aspects of its 'charter of demands'. During the 90-minute meeting, the ULFA delegation led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa held discussions with Union Home Secretary R K Singh and other officials. "It was a very constructive and fruitful discussion. I think we have achieved very good progress in the meeting," Singh said.
Centre's interlocutor for peace talks with northeast militants P C Haldar on Thursday said he was "optimistic about taking the peace talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom forward as they have expressed their willingness for unconditional talks."
The pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) led by its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa on Wednesday came down heavily on fugitive Paresh Barua, the leader of the outfit's anti-talks faction for trying to make light the ongoing peace talks between Indian government and the ULFA (Rajkhowa faction).
Paresh Barua, heading the United Liberation Front of Asom's anti-talk faction, on Wednesday rejected the unilateral ceasefire declared by Arabindo Rajkhowa-led group.
Against the backdrop of reports of surrender of ULFA chief Arabinda Rajkhowa, Home Minister P Chidambaram on Thursday said the media was creating confusion by "speculative" reporting.
The chairman of the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa on Tuesday said that the outfit was hopeful that the assurance of an 'honourable negotiated solution' to all the burning problems of Assam as given by 'the leadership of the world's largest democracy to the people of a strife-torn Assam ' would be kept in true spirit.
The pro-talks faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam led by its chairman Arabinda Rajhowa on Tuesday denied receiving any money for maintenance of its cadres and their families from the government as reported in a section of the media.
United Liberation Front of Asom 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa on Tuesday said he went to Pakistan when operation Bajrang was launched in Assam in 1990 but denied the group was backed by Islamic fundamentalists of that country.
United Liberation Front of Asom chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, who was arrested over two months ago, on Saturday said his outfit was not keen on peace talks but wanted to resolve long-drawn contentious political issues through negotiations. "I do not want peace talks, but want talks to resolve the problems facing the state," Rajkhowa said. "People will not be kept in the dark on the issue of talks and they will be the first to be taken into confidence," he said.
The Border Security Force said on Friday that top United Liberation Front of Asom leader Arabinda Rajkhowa, another key militant and their families surrendered at the Dawki border outpost in Meghalaya early on Friday morning.
Revealing the stand of the outfit in the aftermath of the arrest of most of its top leaders in the past few months, spokesperson Mithinga Daimary also said that given the (changed) political situation in the region and the world, sticking to the armed struggle could prove suicidal.
The boycott is being lifted following appeals by eminent sports persons and sports lovers of Assam, Rajkhowa said in a statement that was e-mailed to the media.
The chief of the United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa was handed over to the Border Security Force by Bangladeshi security agencies at an outpost along the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya early on Friday morning, official sources said.
ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa on Thursday claimed that reports of his "arrest" were aimed at creating confusion and "derailing" the peace process in Assam.
In a major setback to the United Liberation Front of Asom, its top leader Arabinda Rajkhowa has been detained in Bangladesh and is likely to be handed over to India soon.
After undergoing a routine medical check up at the Guwahati Medical College Hospital, Rajkhowa told media person, "The overall situation is now conducive for talks and we appeal to both India and Bangladesh to facilitate the participation of Chetia in the talks by releasing him from captivity."
ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has indicated that the banned militant outfit is ready for peace talks.
All the top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Assam led by 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa submitted their charter of demands to Home Minister P Chidambaram in New Delhi on Friday, paving way for the peace process with the government.
He had to undergo an emergency surgical operation and, hence, had to be moved to a place were advanced medical facilities were available.
The Government of India has extended the ban on the United Liberation Front of Assam and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland with a fresh notification making it clear that operation against hawkish factions of these two outfits would continue notwithstanding the on-going peace process involving doves of both the outfits.
The United Liberation Front of Asom anti-talk faction, led by 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua, on Saturday rejected the charter of demands submitted by the pro-talk faction to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday informed the state assembly that the arrested chairman of United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa and foreign secretary Sashadhar Choudhury had been in Bangladesh since 1990, while finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika and deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah shifted to Bangladesh on a later date.
Believed to have led lavish lives in their heydays, pro-talks United Liberated Front of Asom leaders have now been given Rs 40 lakh by the Centre for daily expenses and to run their families.
In its efforts to bring lasting peace in Assam, the Centre on Friday held talks with ULFA and discussed the group's demands to find a permanent solution to the three-decade-old insurgency in the Northeastern state.
After successfully mobilising public opinion to favour the release of senior leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom to facilitate talks with the government, the Sanmilita Jatiya Abhibartan, a forum of leading citizens and civil society organisations, has now started preparing the charter of demands that the outfit can present ahead of the peace talks.
The government is determined to start negotiation with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom sans the participation of its fugitive 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday said that dialogue with ULFA will start as soon as the outfit will take a formal decision in its general council meeting.
Hours after the release of United Liberation Front of Asom Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa from Guwhati's Central Jail, the Assam government clarified that the ban the outfit will stay despite the outfit's leadership talking truce.
Sustained operations by security forces, fast dwindling base among the masses and cooperation from the present regime in Bangladesh in evicting insurgent leaders from their soil during the year have brought many insurgent outfits of Assam down on their knees.
The Central government-appointed interlocutor for facilitating peace talks with the banned United Liberation Front of Assam P C Haldar, the former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, arrived in Guwahati for a three-day visit on Wednesday.
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