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UWAHATI: With two recently arrested Ulfa leaders expressing their eagerness for peace talks, speculation is rife that their outfit may also go
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the NDFB way soon.
Just as the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre and the state government in May 2005, leaving its chairman, Ranjan Daimary, out of the talks, security think tanks believe that Ulfa may also initiate peace negotiations without its elusive "commander-in-chief", Paresh Baruah.
Sources hinted that Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa would be out in the peace stream sooner than later. Rajkhowa is reportedly still holed up in Bangladesh but under surveillance. The mood in security and intelligence agencies is upbeat following the arrest of Ulfa's "foreign secretary" Sashadhar Choudhury and "finance secretary" Chitrabon Hazarika, who are members of the outfit's powerful central executive committee.
A couple of years before NDFB sat down for talks with the Centre, almost all its top leaders, excluding Ranjan Daimary, had been arrested. They were then released and the organization was reorganised with a new chairman to head the talks. Daimary now heads a faction of NDFB that continues fight for a sovereign Bodo state.
Ulfa is currently passing through a similar phase, with most of its 15 central executive committee members in jail. One of them, Robin Handique, died of illness while he was in judicial custody in Tezpur. Another member, Ramu Mech, is on parole trying to recover from illness. Two other members, Ashanta Baghphukan and Robin Neog, are missing since 2003 when Bhutan flushed out Indian rebel outfits from its soil.
Only Rajkhowa, Baruah, former "deputy c-in-c" Raju Baruah and another member, Jibon Moran, haven't been caught yet. "If it (peace talks) could start without Ranjan Daimary in the case of NDFB, why not the same for Ulfa," a top state policymaker on security issues quipped. It is only a mater of weeks before Choudhury and Hazarika join their colleagues inside the Guwahati jail.
Choudhury and Hazarika have both been persistent with their statements favouring talks with the government, provided Rajkhowa gives his consent, before interrogators as well as the media. Rajkhowa, on the other hand, had issued a statement a few days ago that he would make his stand clear on the peace initiative soon.
However, security forces fear quick reactions from the banned outfit's military wing, headed by Baruah, which is still active. The fears have grown stronger after suspected Ulfa rebels blew up 16 fuel-laden wagons of an oil train in Golaghat district.
The erstwhile 28th battalion, Ulfa's crack unit, which was disintegrated two years ago after two companies declared a unilateral ceasefire, is fast reorganizing itself as a potent force. Sources said the battalion is now headed by Bijoy Chinese, Antu Chowdang and Sujit Mohan. The battalion is based alongside two other general camps of the outfit in Myanmar, called the Naga Base and the Arakan Base. The 27th battalion based in Karbi Anglong is also trying to regroup and fight it out under the joint leadership of Pallab Saikia, Sagar Toppo and Bacchu Singh. The 109th battalion, headed by Drishti Rajkhowa, is based in West Garo Hills and Goalpara district areas, which looks after transit to Bangladesh, while the 709th battalion, based in lower Assam under Hira Sarania, is primarily for targeting the city.
