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 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.
With several top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders deported to India from Bangladesh, the Centre is treading cautiously on holding deliberations with the outlawed outfit as it does not want to repeat the 1992 experience when five of the militant leaders, released for talks, used the opportunity to go underground and regroup.
With a batch of key leaders of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom deserting the outfit's shelters in Bangladesh, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday raised hopes for starting a dialogue with the outfit soon while terming the 'desertion' of ranks by the ULFA men a 'good sign' for the efforts to restore peace in the state.
Stratfor says there exists a strong nexus between ISI and Bangladesh's intelligence agencies.
Two militants from the banned National Democratic Front of Bodoland were killed in an encounter with security forces at Mahendrapur, under Gossaingaon police station in Kokrajhar district, in Assam on Saturday morning.The entire state has been put on alert following a warning by intelligence agencies that the NDFB and United Liberation Front of Asom are planning to carry out blasts across Assam.A woman ULFA cadre and explosive expert Jonali Rajbonghi was arrested.
Deviating from his earlier stand on the release of top leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom from jail to facilitate talks with the outfit, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said on Tuesday that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh would have the final say in the matter.
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday expressed interest to meet intellectuals and civil society leaders in Assam who have organised a state-level convention to mount pressure on the banned United Liberation Front of Asom to come forward for talks with the government.
Union Home Minster P Chidambaram on Friday said that anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom led by its 'military chief' Paresh Baruah should be roped in for negotiations.
A source in the chief minister's office informed that the judicial inquiry would continue simultaneously along with the investigation that was being carried out by the Additional Chief Secretary of the State Alok Party. Gogoi has made it clear that no official would be spared if found guilty of intentional killing of 'any innocent person' in the name of counter-insurgency operation in general.
Nine more persons were killed on Sunday in Assam as violence continued despite the state government's claim to have augmented the deployment of security personnel.
The anti-talks faction of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom called off its 12-hour Assam bandh after the visit of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh to the poll-bound state on Monday has been rescheduled.
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.
The anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom on Saturday warned of 'armed protest' against the ruling Congress for 'engineering a division in the outfit under the guise of a peace process'.A statement e-mailed to the local media by one Arunoday Dahotia on behalf of the ULFA faction led by commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, said that the ULFA would resort to 'armed protest' against the Congress for indulging in the 'politics of division'.
Suspected United Liberation Front of Asom militants shot dead two persons including a school teacher in two separate incidents in Kakopathar area in Upper Assam's Tinsukia district on Thursday night.
Official sources in Guwahati informed that the Central team would be led by Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar who would be accompanied by Union Special Secretary Home M L Kumawat and Defence Secretary Vijay Singh.
Taking a step forward to hold a dialogue with the Government of India, the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has sent a letter to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi expressing his outfit's desire to hold unconditional peace talks.
India has asked Bangladesh to destroy 172 camps run by northeastern insurgents in its territory and to apprehend 103 militants including top United Liberation Front of Asom leaders based in that country, officials said on Thursday.
The United Liberation Front of Asom doves, the pro-talks faction of the ULFA, has demanded full autonomy for Assam within the framework of the Constitution, after detaching itself from the banned militant group's demand for the 'restoration of Assam's sovereignty'.Mrinal Hazarika, president of the ULFA doves, submitted a 18-point charter of demand to Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, to resolve the insurgency problem in the state.
ULFA has said it will exercise restraint in its operations.
The banned United Liberation Front of Asom on Friday gave a strong message to the government that it may be down off late because of the reverses it has suffered in Bangladesh and in the wake of arrest of so many of its top leaders, saying it is definitely not.
"Hafizur Rahman (the prime accused) has told the magistrate that he had met Tarique Rahman at Hawa Bhaban along with Ulfa leader Paresh Barua on April 1, 2004," the state-run BSS news agency quoted a senior police official as saying on Sunday night
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday claimed that over 300-odd cadres, belonging to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom and the anti-peace talks faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, were hiding in Bangladesh. He claimed that at least ten top ranking leaders of the ULFA had taken refuge in the neighbouring country and were operating from there.'ULFA chief Paresh Barua and NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary keep shifting their locations,'Gogoi said
The Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), a militant outfit currently in a state of truce with the government, is providing help and shelter to cadres of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom in Naga villages.According to police sources, the ULFA cadres have found safe haven in Mon district of Nagaland with the help of NSCN-K militants.The ULFA militants often cross the border and flee to Nagaland after carrying out operations within Assam.
Getting wind of the design of the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom's plans to trigger more explosions in the state especially in Guwahati, security forces have mounted vigil all over the state.
The banned United Liberation Front of Asom militants shot dead three persons late on Sunday night while eight ULFA militants surrendered before the army in Assam on Monday.
On talks with ULFA, which received a major setback last year with four of its top leaders arrested in Bangladesh, he said: "Though we tried to bring them (ULFA) to the negotiation table in 2006, they backed out. I hope this time good reason prevails.
Making the split in the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom official, the pro-talks faction of the outfit has given up the demand for sovereignty and announced its readiness to hold talks with the central government within the framework of the Constitution. The faction said it favours autonomy over sovereignty.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Friday said there are positive signals from the United Liberation Front of Asom leadership for peace talks except its elusive 'military chief' Paresh Barua.
Apprehending trouble in its bases outside the country in the post-Mumbai scenario that has stepped up the crackdown against terrorism in South Asia, the banned United Liberation Front of Asom is trying to step up activities in Assam through smaller tribal militant groups promoted by it.
Noted novelist Jnanpith Dr Mamoni Raisom Goswami (Indira Goswami) on Friday vowed to continue with her efforts to bring the banned militant group to negotiations.
The United Liberation Front of Asom's self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Barua, who is known to be against talks, on Saturday said he had "full confidence" in chairman Arabindo Rajkhowa and the outfit was ready for a dialogue provided "sovereignty" for Assam was discussed.
Following the arrest of the United Liberation Front of Asom chief Arabinda Rajkhowa and nine others on Friday, two senior ULFA cadres who were trained in Myanmar surrendered to the Indian Army on Saturday at Thakurbari in Tezpur in north Assam.
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 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.
The IEDs exploded adjacent to a police reserve and about 150 mt away from the parade ground where the celebration was on at 8 am, police said.
The slain militants were identified as Palash Rajbongshi and Bhaskar Baruah, two corporals of 28 Battalion of the ULFA.
Apart from the ULFA, the National Democratic Front of Bodoland, which is now in truce with the government of India, also demands sovereignty for Bodo tribe living in Assam.
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