NDFB declares indefinite ceasefire
Source: The Sangai Express / NNN/PTI
Guwahati, July 26 2011:
Often mentioned as 'deadliest' militant outfit in Assam, the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) has announced ceasefire for an indefinite period.
The NDFB's decision to declare ceasefire was unilateral.
In an email press communique to the media houses today, the Bodo militant outfit said the move has been "to facilitate a political dialogue" .
The truce comes more than a year after Bangladesh handed over its founder chairman Ranjan Daimary alias DR
Nabla to India.
Daimary is the prime accused in the serial blasts of October 30, 2008 that killed 92 people in Guwahati and three western Assam towns.
The outfit split two months after the blasts with the larger pro-talks faction appointing Dhiren Boro as its chairman.
"Our general headquarters has unanimously decided to cease all hostile activities indefinitely from August 1 to find a durable and sustainable political solution to the conflict through political dialogue and discussion," said the faction's information and publicity secretary in an e-mail statement on Tuesday.
The ceasefire was preceded by an announcement by Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi that he had authorized the Bodo National Council (BNC), a new umbrella body of different Bodo groups, to talk to Daimary and find out what the faction had in mind.
A delegation of the BNC had met Daimary in Nagaon central jail on July 20, during which it had requested him to tread the path of peace.
It is pertinent to note that way back in the autumn of 1986 Ranjan Daimary founded an outfit called Boro Security Force (BSF).
In 1994, the nomenclature BSF was changed to NDFB.
Security forces capture ULFA leader (Tezpur):
The security forces today claimed they had arrested Arun Udoy Dehotia, the right hand man of Paresh Baruah in Assam's Sonitpur district, but it turned out it was another ULFA leader.
A joint team of the 44 Assam Rifles and the police raided Jinjia village in Biswanath sub-division and arrested Ritwik Hazarika, who was first thought to be Dehotia, the ULFA Publicity Secretary of the anti-talk faction led by Paresh Baruah, Superintendent of Police Anant Prasad Tiwari told PTI here.
Ritwik was initially mistaken for Dehotia as they both had similar physical features with local people also claiming it to be him, Tiwari said.
A 9-mm pistol with two magazines, two mobile phones and three SIM cards were seized from him, Tiwari said.
"Though Ritwik is not Dehotia, he is nevertheless a very important and senior cadre of the political wing of the anti-talk faction led by 'ULFA c-in-c' Paresh Baruah," the SP said.
He said that Ritwik was sent by Paresh Baruah from Myanmar to prepare the ground for the ULFA in northern Assam to launch a recruitment drive and understand the pulse of the people.
He was being interrogated at the Assam Rifles camp at Lokra in Tezpur.
Dehotia also sent an e-mail statement to the media, but it had no mention of the claim of his arrest by the security forces.
Some local TV news channels claimed that Dehotia called them up to deny his arrest.
Dehotia in his email criticised the ULFA pro-talk faction's publicity in-charge Kamal Kachari.