Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Tuesday claimed that "not a single Hindi-speaking permanent resident of Assam has left the state after the violence."
In a statement issued to the media in Guwahati, chairman of the banned ULFA, Arabinda Rakhowa said: 'A baseless and misleading rumour has been spread among the people of Assam about holding of dialogue among the ULFA, colonial Indian government and the Assam government. We hereby appeal to the people of Assam not to get confused by this rumour till we clarify our stand on holding of such dialogue.'
"There will be no let up in vigil against the banned ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) now onwards under any circumstances," vowed Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
The assurance of additional compensation was given by the prime minister to six parliamentarians from Assam accompanied by Union Minister Santosh Mohan Dev, who met him to discuss the situation in the state.
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.
Five personnel from Assam Rifles including two officers were killed in an ambush by terrorists on Monday in a remote hill area of Manipur bordering Myanmar.
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.
An Assam police source said that the joint team of Army and police conducted raids at Murkusiapara village under Barama police station near Bhutan border.
This year the army have maintained constant vigil over the two vital supply lines to ULFA bases in Myanmar putting the outfit cadres holed up in Myanmar in a spot.
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.
This is not the first time that the ULFA insisted on a plebiscite as a way to end the imbroglio over whether people of Assam need or aspire for 'sovereignty' or not.
He also said the Union government is open to the idea of holding talks with insurgent groups, including the United Liberation Front of Asom.
The ULFA threat comes following a story telecast by the channel that alleged that the militant group was willing to call off the boycott of the forthcoming National Games in Guwahati in lieu of money from Assam government.
The Assam Rifles said the drive against ULFA militants would continue in Nagaland in the coming days even though the ceasefire was in force in the state.
"We want a political solution and are ready to hold discussions but not by surrendering arms. If the Centre can hold discussions with the Naga outfits, then why not with us," ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement.
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.
The bodies were dug out from the grave at Haskati Kung Seng village under Kakopathar police station on Tuesday after the villagers reported presence of human body parts, police said.
The banned ULFA has been engaged in an armed conflict with the Indian forces for the last 27 years demanding 'restoration of sovereignty of Assam', the core demand of the outfit.
Progress on an extradition treaty, repatriation of United Liberation Front of Assam leader Anup Chetia and border related issues figured in talks between the home secretaries of India and Bangladesh in Dhaka on Tuesday.
The self-styled chairman of militant Karbi National Liberation Army and two cadres of anti-talks faction of United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent were among six terrorists arrested by the security forces in Assam during the last 24 hours.
Nitish Kumar conveyed his concern over the attacks to Union Home Minister Shivraj Patil and Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday night, sources in his secretariat said on Thursday.
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.
This is the second major threat ONGC has faced in Assam in less than a year.
Upping the ante, United Liberation Front of Asom 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua shot off a 'last message' to the centre, asking it to take a referendum in Assam if it could not discuss the sovereignty issue with the group.
She contested the Baruahola Panchayat body in Tinsukia's Chabua as a candidate of the Opposition Asom Gana Parishad and defeated her nearest Congress rival Manjula Barua with a big margin. The particular panchayat had been under Congress clutch for a long time.
Bijoy Shankar Hazarika, a surrendered militant of the United Liberation Front of Asom, was seriously injured and his wife Anita Barman was killed when unidentified gunmen fired at them in Ghograpar at Assam's Nalbari district on Sunday afternoon. The police suspect that personal rivalry may be the motive behind the attack on the surrendered militant. They are trying to ascertain the identity of the assailants.
At least fifteen persons, including several police personnel, were injured when suspected militants belonging to the anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom detonated a grenade blast near a police check-point in busy Paltan Bazar locality in the heart of Guwahati city at around 8 pm.
The banned militant outfit called upon sportspersons to stay away from the National Games to be held in Guwahati in February next year.
The slain person, who was shot dead at his residence, was a former member of the banned outfit and was working closely with security forces engaged in counter-insurgency operations.
Stepping up violence ahead of Independence Day, United Liberation Front of Assam blew up a gas pipeline, a steel bridge and a transformer across Assam, police said in Guwahati on Tuesday.
India may soon get the custody of the 'general secretary' of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam Anup Chetia, who is currently lodged Bangladesh jail, as the process for signing of an extradition treaty between the two neighbouring nations has commenced.
Tirap, Changlang and Longding districts of Arunachal Pradesh and eight police stations bordering Assam were declared "disturbed" areas under the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Monday called upon the fugitive commander in chief of the United Liberation Front of Asom Paresh Baruah to come out of the clutches of the Pakistani Inter Services Intelligence and other forces inimical to India and hold talks with the government of India instead of engineering killings of innocent people in Assam.
The anti-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom on Saturday flayed Assam's Parliamentary Secretary (home department) Bhupen Borah for the latter's comment castigating the militant group for using 'hired criminals' to trigger bomb/grenade blasts in the state.
"The killing of six people in Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts by the ULFA has demonstrated that the enemies of the country are prompting them to resort to such acts," Gogoi told reporters in Guwahati.
The anti-talk faction of United Liberation Front of Assam on Sunday claimed responsibility for the Paltan Bazar blast in Guwahati in which a Central Reserve Police Force personnel was killed and 12 others injured on Saturday.
An ULFA commander has said that the PM has nothing to offer in terms of talks on sovereignty.
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