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.
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 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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The banned insurgent group called upon all ethnic groups in Assam to remain united behind its revolution against the 'Indian colonial rule' with an objective to liberate Assam and its people.
Arabinda Rajkhowa hoped that the process of political dialogue for resolving the 'Assam-India conflict', which was stalled in 2006, would be resumed and completed in the new year.
He had to undergo an emergency surgical operation and, hence, had to be moved to a place were advanced medical facilities were available.
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.
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.
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.
Assam government on Monday announced that the wives and children of arrested United Liberation Front of Asom leaders chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasadhar Choudhury were under police security and would be released soon as there was no case registered against the spouses; although they were members of the women wing of the outfit.
The Centre is treading cautiously on holding deliberations with the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom as it does not want to repeat the 1992 experience when five leaders of the rebel group released for talks availed the opportunity to go underground.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday called upon Paresh Barua, the fugitive commander-in-chief of the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom, to join the ongoing peace process with his colleagues in the militant outfit, led by 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa. Addressing the people of Assam on Independence Day in Guwahati, Gogoi said his government was sympathetic towards the misguided youth of the state in the ranks of various insurgent groups.
Top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders on Friday met Home Minister P Chidambaram and presented the outfit's 'charter of demands', setting the ball rolling for peace talks with the government to bring about a lasting solution to Assam's three-decade old insurgency problem.
The pro-talk United Liberation Front of Asom faction, led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, is deliberating on the charter of demands to be taken up during its peace talks with the Centre.
The ULFA chairman also criticised the government of Assam and the government in New Delhi for overlooking Nagaland's bid to encroach upon Assam territory.
A delegation of United Liberation Front of Asom leaders, led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, days after the group sat for unconditional talks with the government.
For the first time in its 31-year-long struggle, the banned United Liberation Front od Asom will hold face-to-face unconditional talks with the Centre tomorrow in an attempt to usher in peace in insurgency-hit Assam. An eight-member ULFA delegation led by its 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa will meet Union Home Secretary G K Pillai.
The vertical split in the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom has come to the fore raising questions about the fate of the nascent peace process with the Government of India.
Two top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders -- 'foreign secretary' Sasha Choudhury and 'finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika -- were granted bail on Monday by a special TADA court paving the way for their release.
The Centre on Tuesday held talks with the top leadership of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and discussed various aspects of its 'charter of demands' which sought amendment in the Constitution to find a lasting solution to the three-decade-old insurgency problem in Assam.
The banned militant group on Saturday reacted very sharply to Asom Sahitya Sabha president Kanaksen Deka's criticism of its demand for sovereignty.
ULFA marks November 28 as protest day.
They appear to have divergent views on the outfit's demand for 'sovereignty', with some of them softening their stand on the 27-year-old 'core demand'.
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