GUWAHATI, Nov 4 – The security forces of Bangladesh have started raiding the places used as hideouts by the leaders and cadres of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) looking for weapons. Meanwhile, the ULFA and other militant outfits taking shelter in Myanmar have been forced to shift their bases in that country following pressure from the authorities.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that in recent days, the security forces of Bangladesh have raided a number of places used as hideouts by the ULFA leaders in that country. Sources pointed out that when the leaders of the ULFA were apprehended and handed over to India by the Government of Bangladesh, they came empty handed, while, the anti-talk group members also fled the country without taking their belongings.
Under the circumstances, the possibility of the ULFA members leaving their weapons and other belongings behind cannot be rule out and that is why the security forces of Bangladesh started carrying out raids in the hideouts. The communications intercepted by the security forces in recent times indicated that the ULFA members were very much worried about the raids, which also indicate that they must have left behind something which they needed to hide, sources added.
It may be mentioned here that prominent leaders of the ULFA including Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa were apprehended by the security forces of Bangladesh and were handed over to India, while, others including Paresh Baruah escaped from Bangladesh after the Sheikh Hasina led Government came to power.
Meanwhile, life has become tough for the ULFA in Myanmar as the outfit has been forced to shift bases constantly. Though the Government of Myanmar is yet to launch a full scale operation against the ultras, it is evident that some pressure has been put on the militants and that is why they are shifting their bases, sources pointed out.
Sources said that according to inputs available with the security forces, the total strength of the ULFA in Myanmar should be around 150 to 200 cadres and Paresh Baruah has been able to survive in that country because of the cordial relations that he maintained with outfits like the Kachin Independent Army (KIA) for years.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
NIA attaches property of terrorists
Amitava Banerjee
Darjeeling, Nov 4 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the first time has attached property of alleged terrorists. The attachment of properties were in connection to the banned Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) terrorist outfit of Manipur. An NIA team led by chief investigating officer Lhary
Lhatoo Dorjee conducted the attachments. The properties attached include a three storied building along with 27 Poles of land in Sumaram Bustee in Kurseong, West Bengal, in the name of one Neera Tamang which was attached on November 2; 17 kathas of land located at Dabgram mouza under the Bhaktinagar Police Station, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, estimated at Rs 1 Crore approximately in the name of one Kangujam Rabi Kumar Singh of Manipur. A Scorpio SUV belonging to one Saraswati Rai (who is presently out on bail) under the Matigarah Police Station will shortly be attached also.
Prior to this on August 18, the NIA had attached a flat in the name of one Tambi wife of self styled KYKL commander Ningthoujam Tomba located at Punija Enclave, RGB Road, Guwahati (estimated cost Rs. 65 lakh) along with another three bed room flat in the name of one Ashalata wife of CH Robert (estimated cost Rs. 70 lakhs) located at Pink Arcade, KC Sen Road, Guwahat, Assami. 13 different bak acounts operational in different names have already been frozen.
Self styled KYKL commander 57 year old Ningthoujam Tomba along with two 18 year old Manipuri girls Sorokkhaibam Memcha Devi and N Rama Chanu and a local woman 28 year old Saraswati Rai had been arrested from Khaprail More under the Matigarah police station in the Darjeeling district bordering the Siliguri town, in a joint operation conducted by the Darjeeling police and a Manipur police commando team on March 15, 2010.
1 satellite phone, 6 cell phones, 1 laptop, multiple external hard disk drives and compact disks along with indiscriminating documents had been recovered from their possession. On April 24, 2010 the case had been handed over to the NIA.
Tomba’s associate Sorokybam Menjor Singh and his wife Neera Tamang had been arrested from Kurseong on August 16. Menjor Singh and his wife have been charged for allegedly raising funds through extortion for terrorist activities in the name of KYKL and used to transfer the extorted funds in Tomba’s account.
Along with this they had allegedly provided a safe haven for Tomba and his associates to operate by allowing them to reside in a three storied house belonging to Neera Tamang in Upper Dumaram Bustee in Kurseong town in the Darjeeling Hills. The Kurseong house was allegedly being used as a base camp for the KYKL leaders and cadres to carry out clandestine operations in Nepal, India and elsewhere. Even ailing cadres used to put up in this house for treatment.
The NIA claims that the extorted funds had been used to buy the plot of land and build the three storied house in Kurseong. Interestingly Tomba allegedly had bought 17 kathas of land in Dabgram in the name of Kangujam Rabi Kumar Singh. Along with these there were multiple bank accounts in which the extorted amounts running into Crores of Ruppes had been transferred.
On September 8, 2010, the NIA had filed chargesheet against 7 alleged KYKL terrorists at the District and Sessions Court in Darjeeling for waging war against the state. Only Rabi Kumar Singh was absconding but was later arrested. All are wanted in multiple cases in Manipur also.
The Manipur government had earlier announced a cash award of Rs 5 Lakh on Tomba stated Binod Agarwal, public prosecutor, Darjeeling Court.
Sources state that the NIA has adopted a strategy of hitting the economics of the terrorist outfit. The investigating agency is working on cutting off the supply of funds, the extortion rackets and even the large investments in various companied by the leaders of this banned outfit. The attachment of properties is part of this strategy.
Darjeeling, Nov 4 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the first time has attached property of alleged terrorists. The attachment of properties were in connection to the banned Kanglei Yawol Kanna Lup (KYKL) terrorist outfit of Manipur. An NIA team led by chief investigating officer Lhary
Lhatoo Dorjee conducted the attachments. The properties attached include a three storied building along with 27 Poles of land in Sumaram Bustee in Kurseong, West Bengal, in the name of one Neera Tamang which was attached on November 2; 17 kathas of land located at Dabgram mouza under the Bhaktinagar Police Station, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, estimated at Rs 1 Crore approximately in the name of one Kangujam Rabi Kumar Singh of Manipur. A Scorpio SUV belonging to one Saraswati Rai (who is presently out on bail) under the Matigarah Police Station will shortly be attached also.
Prior to this on August 18, the NIA had attached a flat in the name of one Tambi wife of self styled KYKL commander Ningthoujam Tomba located at Punija Enclave, RGB Road, Guwahati (estimated cost Rs. 65 lakh) along with another three bed room flat in the name of one Ashalata wife of CH Robert (estimated cost Rs. 70 lakhs) located at Pink Arcade, KC Sen Road, Guwahat, Assami. 13 different bak acounts operational in different names have already been frozen.
Self styled KYKL commander 57 year old Ningthoujam Tomba along with two 18 year old Manipuri girls Sorokkhaibam Memcha Devi and N Rama Chanu and a local woman 28 year old Saraswati Rai had been arrested from Khaprail More under the Matigarah police station in the Darjeeling district bordering the Siliguri town, in a joint operation conducted by the Darjeeling police and a Manipur police commando team on March 15, 2010.
1 satellite phone, 6 cell phones, 1 laptop, multiple external hard disk drives and compact disks along with indiscriminating documents had been recovered from their possession. On April 24, 2010 the case had been handed over to the NIA.
Tomba’s associate Sorokybam Menjor Singh and his wife Neera Tamang had been arrested from Kurseong on August 16. Menjor Singh and his wife have been charged for allegedly raising funds through extortion for terrorist activities in the name of KYKL and used to transfer the extorted funds in Tomba’s account.
Along with this they had allegedly provided a safe haven for Tomba and his associates to operate by allowing them to reside in a three storied house belonging to Neera Tamang in Upper Dumaram Bustee in Kurseong town in the Darjeeling Hills. The Kurseong house was allegedly being used as a base camp for the KYKL leaders and cadres to carry out clandestine operations in Nepal, India and elsewhere. Even ailing cadres used to put up in this house for treatment.
The NIA claims that the extorted funds had been used to buy the plot of land and build the three storied house in Kurseong. Interestingly Tomba allegedly had bought 17 kathas of land in Dabgram in the name of Kangujam Rabi Kumar Singh. Along with these there were multiple bank accounts in which the extorted amounts running into Crores of Ruppes had been transferred.
On September 8, 2010, the NIA had filed chargesheet against 7 alleged KYKL terrorists at the District and Sessions Court in Darjeeling for waging war against the state. Only Rabi Kumar Singh was absconding but was later arrested. All are wanted in multiple cases in Manipur also.
The Manipur government had earlier announced a cash award of Rs 5 Lakh on Tomba stated Binod Agarwal, public prosecutor, Darjeeling Court.
Sources state that the NIA has adopted a strategy of hitting the economics of the terrorist outfit. The investigating agency is working on cutting off the supply of funds, the extortion rackets and even the large investments in various companied by the leaders of this banned outfit. The attachment of properties is part of this strategy.
10 NLFT insurgents surrender
Agartala, Nov 3 (PTI) Ten insurgents of banned National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), including a woman cadre, surrendered before the Assam Rifles in North Tripura district, police said today. The ultras surrendered to the Assam Rifles at their camp at Anandabazar yesterday and deposited two grenades and two detonators and some documents, they said. During interrogation, they stated that factionalism in the insurgent outfit, non-payment and scarcity of food led them to take the step.
Wednesday, November 2, 2011
Paresh warns of strikes
Rajkhowa firm on dialogue decision
Paresh Barua, Arabinda Rajkhowa
Guwahati, Nov. 1: The Paresh Barua faction of Ulfa today warned the indigenous people of Assam to stay away from those associated with “occupational forces” to evade getting harmed in case of a strike by the outfit.
A statement emailed by the group, which is against dialogue without discussions on sovereignty, today said the warning was necessary given the situation in Assam and Ulfa’s commitment not to intentionally hurt the indigenous people in its fight against the “occupational forces”.
“We want to appeal to all indigenous people of the state to stay away from vehicles used by occupational forces, people associated with the forces and their residences, vehicles of leaders of political parties, outside companies and businessmen who are busy exploiting local resources and the corrupt like those who take bribes and blackmarketeers,” the email sent by leader of the group’s publicity cell, Arunodoy Dohotia, said. The group hoped the local people would maintain the distance so as not to face “unwanted situations”.
The warning comes a day after Barua said a solution to the India-Assam conflict was not possible without discussions on sovereignty, the main objective behind Ulfa’s formation. Hours after Dohotia’s email, the group led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said Ulfa as an organisation had taken the decision to reach a political solution through dialogue and would not allow the ongoing process of political negotiation to be hampered because of opposition by one person (Paresh Barua).
“As an organisation, Ulfa has nothing to say about the personal statement of Paresh Barua which was made without the slightest knowledge of the present situation of Assam. It is always easy to issue warnings from a distance in the name of a so-called movement. In today’s scenario, the people of Assam are in favour of a political solution of the Ulfa-government problem,” the email sent by Kamal Kochari, a member of Rakjhowa group’s publicity cell, added.
“In today’s scenario, the demand to establish sovereign Assam is nothing but an imagination. There is no real value in the demand,” it said.
In another development, former Ulfa militants, under the banner of Prakton Ulfa Samanyarakhi Samiti, have called a 24-hour bandh in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts from 5am on Thursday in protest against the killing of Tileswar Lahon, a surrendered Ulfa.
Lahon was shot dead by unidentified assailants near his Moran residence on October 28. The Barua faction claimed to have killed him in retaliation to the killing of a farmer, Dulen Baruah, in 2008.
A large number of villagers, mostly from Balijan Kutoha, today blocked National Highway 37 at Kutuha Tinali under Barbaruah police station for over three hours in protest against the arrest of Tulen Handique of the village on Sunday in connection with Lahon’s killing.
Paresh Barua, Arabinda Rajkhowa
Guwahati, Nov. 1: The Paresh Barua faction of Ulfa today warned the indigenous people of Assam to stay away from those associated with “occupational forces” to evade getting harmed in case of a strike by the outfit.
A statement emailed by the group, which is against dialogue without discussions on sovereignty, today said the warning was necessary given the situation in Assam and Ulfa’s commitment not to intentionally hurt the indigenous people in its fight against the “occupational forces”.
“We want to appeal to all indigenous people of the state to stay away from vehicles used by occupational forces, people associated with the forces and their residences, vehicles of leaders of political parties, outside companies and businessmen who are busy exploiting local resources and the corrupt like those who take bribes and blackmarketeers,” the email sent by leader of the group’s publicity cell, Arunodoy Dohotia, said. The group hoped the local people would maintain the distance so as not to face “unwanted situations”.
The warning comes a day after Barua said a solution to the India-Assam conflict was not possible without discussions on sovereignty, the main objective behind Ulfa’s formation. Hours after Dohotia’s email, the group led by chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said Ulfa as an organisation had taken the decision to reach a political solution through dialogue and would not allow the ongoing process of political negotiation to be hampered because of opposition by one person (Paresh Barua).
“As an organisation, Ulfa has nothing to say about the personal statement of Paresh Barua which was made without the slightest knowledge of the present situation of Assam. It is always easy to issue warnings from a distance in the name of a so-called movement. In today’s scenario, the people of Assam are in favour of a political solution of the Ulfa-government problem,” the email sent by Kamal Kochari, a member of Rakjhowa group’s publicity cell, added.
“In today’s scenario, the demand to establish sovereign Assam is nothing but an imagination. There is no real value in the demand,” it said.
In another development, former Ulfa militants, under the banner of Prakton Ulfa Samanyarakhi Samiti, have called a 24-hour bandh in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts from 5am on Thursday in protest against the killing of Tileswar Lahon, a surrendered Ulfa.
Lahon was shot dead by unidentified assailants near his Moran residence on October 28. The Barua faction claimed to have killed him in retaliation to the killing of a farmer, Dulen Baruah, in 2008.
A large number of villagers, mostly from Balijan Kutoha, today blocked National Highway 37 at Kutuha Tinali under Barbaruah police station for over three hours in protest against the arrest of Tulen Handique of the village on Sunday in connection with Lahon’s killing.
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Paresh demands talks on 'sovereignty'
GUWAHATI: Terming the pro-talks militant leaders as "abulia", Ulfa commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah has once again demanded talks on Assam's "sovereignty" on Monday. He said peace will elude the state without discussions on the topic.
Baruah said Ulfa would never give up the issue of "sovereignty" and would continue to fight for it. "Without it, the political conflict between Assam and India is never going to come to an end. The bailed leaders have failed to understand the diplomacy of Indian politics and the charter of demand can't fulfill the state's demands," Baruah said in a email statement.
The militant head said from NSCN's talks to Assam Accord, no close-door room treaties had ever brought solution to a community. "Muivah has been in dialogue with the Centre for the last 14 years but no solution has been reached. Similarly, Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is also involved in such meetings. Even the state doesn't know about the exact details of Assam Accord signed by Prafulla Mahanta," said the email.
Baruah said Ulfa would never give up the issue of "sovereignty" and would continue to fight for it. "Without it, the political conflict between Assam and India is never going to come to an end. The bailed leaders have failed to understand the diplomacy of Indian politics and the charter of demand can't fulfill the state's demands," Baruah said in a email statement.
The militant head said from NSCN's talks to Assam Accord, no close-door room treaties had ever brought solution to a community. "Muivah has been in dialogue with the Centre for the last 14 years but no solution has been reached. Similarly, Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is also involved in such meetings. Even the state doesn't know about the exact details of Assam Accord signed by Prafulla Mahanta," said the email.
NSCN ultras open fire along Nagaland border
SIVASAGAR, Nov 1 – Tension prevailed along the Assam-Nagaland border area at Sonari in Sivasagar district following opening of fire by Naga miscreants on Friday night. According to sources, a group of around 30-40 suspected NSCN cadres opened fire at around 9,45 pm that night towards Janaki Pathar area from Nagaland side and later escaped. Receiving the information, a team of high officials, including security personnel, of the subdivision reached the spot.
Sources said that after the firing, at least 15-20 families of the village of the border area fled from the area.
Sources also said that the NSCN opened fire with a view to threatening the villagers so that they could carry out their extortion drive in the border areas.
Several organisations of Sonari have slammed the Congress-led Government in Assam for its alleged failure to protect villagers living close to Nagaland border from persecution by the people of the neighbouring State.
Sources said that after the firing, at least 15-20 families of the village of the border area fled from the area.
Sources also said that the NSCN opened fire with a view to threatening the villagers so that they could carry out their extortion drive in the border areas.
Several organisations of Sonari have slammed the Congress-led Government in Assam for its alleged failure to protect villagers living close to Nagaland border from persecution by the people of the neighbouring State.
Five killed in Meghalaya ambush
Shillong, Nov 1 : Four police personnel and a civilian were killed and two policemen critically injured Monday in a militant ambush in insurgency-ravaged western Meghalaya, police said.
A group of 10 heavily armed militants hiding on a hilltop attacked a highway patrol police team at Nengpatchi area of East Garo Hills district, J.F.K. Marak, the police chief of East Garo Hills, told IANS.
The militants also snatched away five weapons, including two AK-47 rifles, two SLRs and one Carbine.
The policemen killed were identified as N.R. Marak, Probinson Sangma, Victor Marak and E. Sangma belonging to the Meghalaya Police 5th battalion, while the identity of the civilian driver is yet to be identified, Marak said.
Peter Sangma and D. Sangma, the injured policemen were rushed to Tura Civil Hospital in West Garo Hills district, he said.
Though no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, police suspect the involvement of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels.
“The GNLA is active in the area and we suspect it received support from some other militant group from outside the state,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
The GNLA, one of the five Garo rebel groups, is fighting for a sovereign Garoland. It is headed by police officer-turned-outlaw Champion R. Sangma.
The outfit is believed to have links with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Condemning the attack, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said: “The government will not rest until the perpetrators of this heartless act are apprehended and dealt with a firm hand in accordance with the law.”
Sangma also announced ex-gratia relief of Rs.7.5 lakh for next of kin of each of the policemen killed.
A group of 10 heavily armed militants hiding on a hilltop attacked a highway patrol police team at Nengpatchi area of East Garo Hills district, J.F.K. Marak, the police chief of East Garo Hills, told IANS.
The militants also snatched away five weapons, including two AK-47 rifles, two SLRs and one Carbine.
The policemen killed were identified as N.R. Marak, Probinson Sangma, Victor Marak and E. Sangma belonging to the Meghalaya Police 5th battalion, while the identity of the civilian driver is yet to be identified, Marak said.
Peter Sangma and D. Sangma, the injured policemen were rushed to Tura Civil Hospital in West Garo Hills district, he said.
Though no militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack, police suspect the involvement of the Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) rebels.
“The GNLA is active in the area and we suspect it received support from some other militant group from outside the state,” a police officer said on condition of anonymity.
The GNLA, one of the five Garo rebel groups, is fighting for a sovereign Garoland. It is headed by police officer-turned-outlaw Champion R. Sangma.
The outfit is believed to have links with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) and the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB).
Condemning the attack, Meghalaya Chief Minister Mukul Sangma said: “The government will not rest until the perpetrators of this heartless act are apprehended and dealt with a firm hand in accordance with the law.”
Sangma also announced ex-gratia relief of Rs.7.5 lakh for next of kin of each of the policemen killed.
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