Tag: Assam militants

  • 318 surrendered militants in Assam get Rs 1.5 lakh each for their rehabilitation

    By Express News Service

    GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Monday offered Rs 1.5 lakh each to 318 surrendered militants for their rehabilitation.They are from groups such as the United Gorkha People’s Organisation, Tiwa Liberation Army, Kuki National Liberation Army, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA).Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who distributed the cheques at a programme here, said these people had joined the mainstream by abjuring the path of violence. He requested them to utilise the money judiciously.Sarma said that although only 11 members of the DNLA had surrendered initially now the entire group was engaged in peace talks with the central and state governments. He was certain that a peace accord could be signed with the outfit soon.“Over the past 18 months, all groups, except the ULFA, joined the mainstream. Many had also signed peace accords,” Sarma, who donned the CM’s mantle on May 10 last year, said.“I hope someday, we will get the ULFA on board. I request ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah to join the peace process. It is not through blood but talks that we can rebuild Assam and march ahead on the road of development,” Sarma said.The ULFA has two factions and one is engaged in the peace process but the Baruah-led group has continued to wield the gun. It operates out of the soil of Myanmar and is active in 4-5 districts of upper Assam.Sarma said the state government had facilitated the rehabilitation of altogether 6,780 members of myriad insurgent groups in the last 18 months. “One thing is clear today in Assam that no community or people support violence and division among people. Peace has returned to Assam and the Northeast under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” Sarma said.The Chief Minister also said that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enforced in Assam in 1980 but it has now been lifted from 65 per cent of the areas upon the return of peace. He was hopeful it would be lifted from more areas in the near future.

    GUWAHATI: The Assam government on Monday offered Rs 1.5 lakh each to 318 surrendered militants for their rehabilitation.
    They are from groups such as the United Gorkha People’s Organisation, Tiwa Liberation Army, Kuki National Liberation Army, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA).
    Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who distributed the cheques at a programme here, said these people had joined the mainstream by abjuring the path of violence. He requested them to utilise the money judiciously.
    Sarma said that although only 11 members of the DNLA had surrendered initially now the entire group was engaged in peace talks with the central and state governments. He was certain that a peace accord could be signed with the outfit soon.
    “Over the past 18 months, all groups, except the ULFA, joined the mainstream. Many had also signed peace accords,” Sarma, who donned the CM’s mantle on May 10 last year, said.
    “I hope someday, we will get the ULFA on board. I request ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah to join the peace process. It is not through blood but talks that we can rebuild Assam and march ahead on the road of development,” Sarma said.
    The ULFA has two factions and one is engaged in the peace process but the Baruah-led group has continued to wield the gun. It operates out of the soil of Myanmar and is active in 4-5 districts of upper Assam.
    Sarma said the state government had facilitated the rehabilitation of altogether 6,780 members of myriad insurgent groups in the last 18 months. “One thing is clear today in Assam that no community or people support violence and division among people. Peace has returned to Assam and the Northeast under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah,” Sarma said.
    The Chief Minister also said that the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act was enforced in Assam in 1980 but it has now been lifted from 65 per cent of the areas upon the return of peace. He was hopeful it would be lifted from more areas in the near future.

  • Over 5,000 militants nabbed in Assam since 2011, only 1 convicted: Official records

    By PTI

    GUWAHATI: A total of 5,202 militants have been arrested in the last 12 years from various parts of Assam, but only one of them has been convicted so far, according to official records.

    Only about half of those arrested have been charge-sheeted so far.

    Experts said investigators and the legal system “are at fault”, resulting in an inordinate delay at multiple stages of the justice delivery system.

    The Assam Police arrested 5,202 cadres of ULFA and other extremist groups, comprising people from the Bodo, Garo, Rabha, Karbi, Adivasi, and Muslim communities, from 2011 to September 4 this year, the official documents stated.

    A total of 2,606 persons have been charge-sheeted in connection with the cases to date and “most of the cases are under trial and one person has been convicted”, it said.

    The conviction of the lone militant took place in the Lakhimpur district in 2012.

    No other militant has been convicted since then.

    Of the arrested people, the highest 2,392 number was from militant groups formed by Bodo people, followed by 1,468 from ULFA and 582 from Karbi groups.

    Police also arrested 346 people from Adivasi groups, followed by 178 from Garo, 155 from Muslim, and 81 from Rabha communities.

    Gauhati High Court Advocate Santanu Borthakur told PTI that the delay in the conviction of an accused takes place at multiple stages and it is also done “deliberately at times”.

    “Until we know the dates of arrest and the filing of the charge sheet, it is difficult to know where exactly the delay is taking place. At times, the investigators delay the probe purposively because many militants get political patronage and eventually become political personalities,” he added.

    When the charge sheet is filed after a prolonged period, witnesses cannot be found on several occasions for giving evidence in court.

    Some witnesses do not appear even if they get notice after a long time, Borthakur said.

    “There is a delay in our criminal justice system. …Many a time, the witnesses turn hostile and cannot be found,” he said.

    Another Gauhati High Court Advocate Rakhee Sirauthia Chowdhury said that the fault lies with both the police and the legal system.

    “The investigators do not probe the cases and keep it lying for years. On the other hand, a trial goes on for a long time due to various reasons,” she added.

    Chowdhury said that in the case of militants, the investigation often loses focus because several people start questioning the violation of human rights of the accused.

    “That he or she is a criminal, killed many people, and waged war against the nation — these facts get diluted under the cover of allegations of human rights violation in police custody. And this leads to delay in investigation,” she added.

    Senior Advocate Angshuman Bora told PTI that in most cases involving militants, the witnesses do not come to the court to record their testimony.

    “In a particular case where three or four militants are involved and only one is present and rest are absconders, then also it gets delayed,” he added.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on September 12 said that a total of 1,561 youth from Assam joined extremist organisations since the BJP-led government took charge in 2016.

    During the same period, 7,935 militants have returned to the mainstream, he had said in the Assam Assembly.

    GUWAHATI: A total of 5,202 militants have been arrested in the last 12 years from various parts of Assam, but only one of them has been convicted so far, according to official records.

    Only about half of those arrested have been charge-sheeted so far.

    Experts said investigators and the legal system “are at fault”, resulting in an inordinate delay at multiple stages of the justice delivery system.

    The Assam Police arrested 5,202 cadres of ULFA and other extremist groups, comprising people from the Bodo, Garo, Rabha, Karbi, Adivasi, and Muslim communities, from 2011 to September 4 this year, the official documents stated.

    A total of 2,606 persons have been charge-sheeted in connection with the cases to date and “most of the cases are under trial and one person has been convicted”, it said.

    The conviction of the lone militant took place in the Lakhimpur district in 2012.

    No other militant has been convicted since then.

    Of the arrested people, the highest 2,392 number was from militant groups formed by Bodo people, followed by 1,468 from ULFA and 582 from Karbi groups.

    Police also arrested 346 people from Adivasi groups, followed by 178 from Garo, 155 from Muslim, and 81 from Rabha communities.

    Gauhati High Court Advocate Santanu Borthakur told PTI that the delay in the conviction of an accused takes place at multiple stages and it is also done “deliberately at times”.

    “Until we know the dates of arrest and the filing of the charge sheet, it is difficult to know where exactly the delay is taking place. At times, the investigators delay the probe purposively because many militants get political patronage and eventually become political personalities,” he added.

    When the charge sheet is filed after a prolonged period, witnesses cannot be found on several occasions for giving evidence in court.

    Some witnesses do not appear even if they get notice after a long time, Borthakur said.

    “There is a delay in our criminal justice system. …Many a time, the witnesses turn hostile and cannot be found,” he said.

    Another Gauhati High Court Advocate Rakhee Sirauthia Chowdhury said that the fault lies with both the police and the legal system.

    “The investigators do not probe the cases and keep it lying for years. On the other hand, a trial goes on for a long time due to various reasons,” she added.

    Chowdhury said that in the case of militants, the investigation often loses focus because several people start questioning the violation of human rights of the accused.

    “That he or she is a criminal, killed many people, and waged war against the nation — these facts get diluted under the cover of allegations of human rights violation in police custody. And this leads to delay in investigation,” she added.

    Senior Advocate Angshuman Bora told PTI that in most cases involving militants, the witnesses do not come to the court to record their testimony.

    “In a particular case where three or four militants are involved and only one is present and rest are absconders, then also it gets delayed,” he added.

    Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on September 12 said that a total of 1,561 youth from Assam joined extremist organisations since the BJP-led government took charge in 2016.

    During the same period, 7,935 militants have returned to the mainstream, he had said in the Assam Assembly.

  • Two Assam militants killed in encounter

    By PTI
    DIPHU: Two United Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (UPRF), a Kuki militant outfit, were killed in an encounter with the police in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district on Sunday, police said.

    Acting on specific information, an operation was launched in Jolen area in the Singhason Hills of the district and the two militants were killed in the afternoon.

    The police recovered two AK-47 rifles and several documents from the spot.

    The outfit’s self-styled Commander-in-Chief Martin Kuki was killed in an encounter with security forces in September last year, following which most members of the organisation had surrendered in December, police sources said.

    Two members of the outfit, Veerappan and Arjun, along with six others again regrouped and launched their activities, including recruitment of new cadres.

    Arjun was arrested earlier this year and is currently in jail while the two members killed in the encounter belong to this group.

  • Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal directs officials to rescue kidnapped ONGC employees

    By PTI
    GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Wednesday condemned the kidnapping of three Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) employees by suspected ULFA(I) militants and directed the chief secretary and the DGP to take all steps to rescue them.

    In a series of tweets, Sonowal denounced the abduction of ONGC employees Mohini Mohan Gogoi, Alakesh Saikia and Ritul Saikia from an oilfield in Sivasagar district. “I have asked CS Shri Jishnu Barua and @DGPAssamPolice Shri Bhaskarjyoti Mahanta to take all possible measures for their release,” he added.

    Special DGP, L&O Shri @gpsinghassam is at Lakuwa and investigation regarding the abduction is underway.
    — Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) April 21, 2021

    Sonowal also said that Special DGP (Law and Order) Gyanendra Pratap Singh has rushed to the spot and is monitoring the investigation on the abduction.

    The public sector unit said in a statement that the three employees were abducted by “unknown armed miscreants” in the early hours of Wednesday from a rig site of the ONGC in Lakwa oilfield near the Assam-Nagaland border.

    A senior official of Sivasagar district administration said that suspected ULFA(I) militants are behind this kidnapping and they fled through Nagaland. No demand for ransom or anything else has been received so far.

    During the first week of April, two employees of the Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure, a New Delhi-based private firm, were released by ULFA(I) insurgents who had kidnapped them three-and-a-half months ago on December 21 last year.

    The two were abducted from Kumchaikha hydrocarbon drilling site in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh and the ULFA(I) demanded a ransom of Rs 20 crore.