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Incidents and Statements involving ULFA:
1979-2009
2009
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December 31: The Army
recovers 2.5 kilograms of Improvised Explosive Device (IED), suspected
to be planted by the ULFA cadres, at Khumdi village in Nalbari District.
The explosive is subsequently defused. The Police arrest Jiten Basumatary,
a gram panchayat (village level local self-Government institution)
member, in whose house suspected ULFA cadres had hidden the bomb
before it was put inside a plastic bag.
The Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram said, "Militancy is indeed continuing in Assam
and Manipur and I do not deny it." Stating that two-three top
leaders of the ULFA were still out of the reach of the Security
Forces, he said, "I am confident that there will be good news
in days to come as far as these two-three leaders are concerned…Two
more ULFA leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa and Raju Barua were apprehended
on the India-Bangladesh border and subsequently arrested by the
Assam Police on December 4." The Minister said, "We will
talk to them if they drop the demands for sovereignty and abjure
violence." The report adds that Chidambaram has so far been
maintaining that ULFA needed to drop the demand for sovereignty,
abjure violence and surrender weapons.
The Government will
consider providing safe passage to the ULFA cadres if their jailed
leaders agree to start a dialogue. "If they agree to hold discussions
with the government, we will consider allowing safe passage. This
has been decided," a source said, adding, there has, however,
to be a formal communication from the leadership. "They must
write stating they are willing and ready for talks," the source
said. "They have to come home by shunning the path of violence,"
the source mentioned.
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December 30: Telegraph
reports that the ‘general council meeting’ of the ULFA would be
held at Central Jail in Guwahati to discuss the issue of holding
talks with the Government. Highly placed sources said that Bhimkanta
Buragohain, political adviser to ULFA, would be transferred to Central
Jail after his next hearing in Tezpur court on January 8, 2010 to
satisfy ‘norms of a minimum of eight central committee members being
present at the meeting’. Buragohain is currently in Tezpur jail.
The report adds that the ‘16-member central committee’ of the ULFA
can hold its ‘general council meeting’ with half its members. At
present, seven leaders of the ‘central committee’, including ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa, are in the jail in here. As such it was necessary
for Buragohain to be present at the meeting to make it valid according
to the ‘organization’s rules’. "We cannot say whether the outcome
of the meeting would be positive vis à vis the talks, but
the fact that there would be a meeting is a good beginning and,
who knows, there may be some good news during the festive occasion,"
a source said. Apart from Rajkhowa, Central Jail currently houses
‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Barua, ‘foreign secretary’ Sasha
Choudhury, ‘finance secretary’ Chitrabon Hazarika, ‘vice-president’
Pradip Gogoi, ‘publicity secretary’ Mithinga Daimary and ‘cultural
secretary’ Pranati Deka, wife of Chitrabon. Sources said a few ‘members
of the central committee’ were not willing to hold such a meeting
without ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua but with people asking
for talks to begin, the leaders have decided to go ahead without
him.
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December 29: Indian
Express reports that the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) recently
began an inquiry after discovering ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Baruah figured in its employee rolls. "Two hearings were conducted
on December 4 and December 20. Nobody came forward to either claim
this job or offer a representation on behalf of Baruah," said
a senior NFR official. The report adds that almost three decades
after Baruah last reported for his porter’s job in the Indian Railways,
where he has continued to be ‘employed’ despite neither coming to
work nor drawing a salary. ,
Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi said the Government has already initiated a peace process
with the ULFA, and expressed his hope that the peace process with
the outfit would make a stride in 2010.
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December 28: An ULFA
linkman was arrested by the Police at Baihata area in Kamrup (rural)
District. Two 9-mm pistols with ten rounds of cartridges are recovered
from his possession.
The ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa’s bodyguard Raja Bora alias Polash Phukan was
produced before the Special Court of Judicial Magistrate in Dibrugarh
on December 26 and was sent to Police remand for seven days.
The Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi said that there will be no discussion on the sovereignty
issue during peace talks with the ULFA, according to Shillong Times.
"There will be no discussion on the sovereignty issue when the peace
talks are held with the ULFA. One thing is clear: there will be
no compromise on sovereignty," said Gogoi, adding, "the process
for (initiating) the talkshas almost started but I don't say that
much progress has been made or any breakthrough achieved. Attempts
are being made...let's hope for the best."
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December 27: A suspected
ULFA linkman, Diganta Bora, is arrested by the Police from Murpholoni
in Golaghat District. Incriminating documents are recovered from
his possession.
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December 26: The Director
General of Assam Police G. M. Srivastava said that though the ULFA
is not yet finished, it will not be the same organization after
the arrests of its senior leaders. He pointed out that though the
incidents of violence are the visible impacts of a militant group,
no organization can run only through acts of violence. "There
are several other aspects of running a militant outfit effectively
including maintaining international contacts and managing other
aspects of the outfit and it will not be possible for Paresh Baruah
alone to do that. The arrested top leaders of the outfit were key
members of the ULFA and it will be difficult for the ULFA to run
the outfit without them. For example, some of the arrested leaders
were responsible for maintaining international contacts and without
them the outfit will lose such contacts," he added. Srivastava
further said that if majority of the ULFA leaders finally decide
to come forward for talks, the people of Assam would make Paresh
Baruah redundant.
The ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa and ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Barua are
sent to judicial custody after 21 days in Police custody. The remand
order is given by the Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan, who
heard the case at a camp court inside the Central Jail in Guwahati.
A cadre belonging
to ‘709th battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Dharmendra Kalita,
is arrested by a joint team of the Police and CRPF near the Guwahati
refinery along with RDX and ball bearings, which are used as splinters
in bombs. Kalita belonged to Nalbari District of lower Assam. "He
was walking along the railway tracks near the Sector 3 area of the
refinery complex. When he was asked to stop, he tried to flee but
was captured," a Police Officer said. Sources said Kalita had
revealed during interrogation that several ULFA cadres from the
lower Assam Districts had entered the State capital recently to
carry out the strikes. "We, too, had some unsubstantiated inputs
about Ulfa plans to carry out strikes at vital installations in
the state, especially in the capital city, but Kalita has now corroborated
it. We have now taken a re-look and tightened security around these
areas," the Police Officer said. He said Kalita was a bomb
expert and knows how to make an IED. "He had all the ingredients
required to prepare the IED with him. We are expecting to get more
specific information from him about the other cadres who have entered
the city," he said. The Police said ULFA cadres in lower Assam
were still active and preparing to carry out strikes. "Several
active cadres of the outfit from lower Assam are taking shelter
on the outskirts of the city and are looking for opportunities to
enter the city to strike," another Police Officer said. Police
sources recently revealed that they have information about ULFA
cadres from lower Assam Districts setting up a base again inside
Bhutanese territory near Barpathar village in Assam’s Chirang District.
Sources added that two top leaders of the 709th ‘battalion’ of the
ULFA, identified as self-styled ‘second lieutenant’ Baba Rabha and
‘sergeant major’ Kushal Das, are manning the camp that has over
100 cadres, most of them new recruits.
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December 23: The ULFA
‘foreign secretary’ Sashadhar Choudhury and ‘finance secretary’
Chitraban Hazarika are reproduced before the Court of the Chief
Judicial Magistrate in Kamrup and were sent to another 14 days of
judicial custody in connection with the Bharalumukh Police Station
case.
A ULFA militant, Jatin
Shaw alias Alput Thapa (25), surrenders and deposits his
9-mm pistol and one magazine before the Inspector General of the
Border Security Force (Assam-Meghalaya frontier) Prithvi Raj at
Shillong in Meghalaya. Jatin belongs to Golaghat in Assam and joined
the ‘B company’ of the outfit in 2003 and underwent training at
the ‘first battalion Naga camp’ in Myanmar. He is also involved
in many killing and extortions cases in Assam. The surrendered militant
worked as the ‘personal security officer’ of ‘commander of B company’
Sujeet Mohan. Jatin reportedly came over ground at the calling of
his mother. He said, "I decided to leave the outfit after my mother
asked me to do so". He also stated that National Socialist Council
of Nagaland and ULFA are operating collectively in the forests of
Myanmar, adding 20-25 cadres from Arunachal Pradesh were also undergoing
training at different camps of the neighbouring country. Prithvi
Raj expresses concern over the move by Northeast militants to shift
base from Bangladesh to Myanmar in the wake of the ongoing operations
against them by Dhaka. Admitting that there was an exodus of ULFA
militants to Myanmar to escape the ongoing operations by the Bangladeshi
Security Forces, Prithvi Raj said, "It is quite natural that
the militants look for new pastures to continue their future activities."
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December 22: The Union
Home Minister P. Chidambaram, turning down the demand for sovereignty,
asks the ULFA and UNLF to give up violence and hold talks. He said
that the Union Government was willing to look at 'new governing
structures' to take care of the development agenda of the Northeast.
"A couple of groups like the ULFA and the UNLF are still carrying
out violent activities. To them we say, give up the demand for sovereignty.
Give up violence and we can talk of anything," the Union Minister
said at the valedictory session of the Confederation of Indian Industry
(CII) leadership summit in Kolkata. Stating that the Constitution
was resilient and innovative, and accommodated the concerns of the
people of smaller states, he said, "If new innovations for governing
structures are required, we are willing to look at it. The Constitution
has provided for hill development councils, semi-autonomy, and some
schedules to address the concerns of the people of the smaller states.
We can have more schedules as long as it takes care of the development
agenda."
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December 19: Police
said that surrendered ULFA cadres were involved in the December
18 robbery at a branch of the United Bank of India at Dirok in Margherita
of Tinsukia District. "We have identified a few members of the gang.
At least three of them are surrendered ULFA militants," a senior
Police official involved in the investigations said. He, however,
did not name them, saying the time was "not right" yet.
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December 17: The highly
placed security sources said that the ULFA leaders, including the
‘chairman’, did not divulge the name of any political leader who
paid money to the outfit. Sources mentioned that the ULFA was involved
in selling arms and ammunition to different militant groups of the
region, including ATTF, NLFT, KLNLF, etc. The outfit, over the years,
managed to establish very good contacts with the clandestine arms
dealers of South East Asian countries and also received Programmable
Time Device (PTD) switches from Pakistan. The outfit still has a
good stock of PTD switches and the potential to trigger off explosions,
sources said. However, seizures of a large number of weapons of
the ULFA in 2004 and 2007 in Bangladesh severely affected the outfit,
sources added.
A surrendered ULFA
cadre, Ratul Pathak, is shot at and wounded by unidentified militants
at Gobardhana Chariali in Barpeta District.
The Court of Chief
Judicial Magistrate in Guwahati, Robin Phukan, remands ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa, ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Barua and Rajkhowa’s
bodyguard Raja Bora, to nine days of Police custody in connection
with three blast-related cases registered at Paltan Bazar, Bharalumukh
and Bhangagarh Police Stations.
The arrested leaders
of the ULFA confess that the outfit received "benefits"
from political parties mostly in forms of money, particularly during
elections.
Bhutan said it has
no information about ULFA running any camp in its territory but
would take "positive steps" only if India communicated
to it on this issue.
Police said that surrendered
ULFA cadres were involved in the December 18 robbery at a branch
of the United Bank of India at Dirok in Margherita of Tinsukia District.
"We have identified a few members of the gang. At least three of
them are surrendered ULFA militants," a senior Police official involved
in the investigations said. He, however, did not name them, saying
the time was "not right" yet.
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December 16: Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi rules out the possibility of halting
army operations targeting the ULFA outfit.
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December 14: Meghalaya Police
conducts counter-insurgency operations in the East Garo Hills region
to flush out ULFA militants who have entered in large numbers to
escape ongoing flush-out operations in neighbouring State of Assam.
The area is idle for militants to use as a corridor to cross over
to and fro Bangladesh and for concealment of weapons in view of
the thick forest cover with an inaccessible terrain. Meghalaya Director
General of Police S. B. Kakati said Garo Hills had previously been
used by Assam-based militants as a safe haven. "I don't deny the
fact that it is even now being used by militants and we are on the
lookout for them," he said. According to Kakati, the area of concern
is Resubelpara sub-division sharing border with Assam's Goalpara
District. He said ‘109th battalion’ of the ULFA led by its ‘commander’
Hira Sarania was active in lower Assam and thereby used the route
for transport of men and arms. "Resubelpara sub-division is infested
by ULFA and even now operations are taking place to flush them out.
There have been instances of arrest, seizure of weapons and neutralizing
of militants," he said and added that identification of militants
is a problem for the Police.
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December 14: The ULFA’s pro-talk
faction led by Mrinal Hazarika reacted sharply to the December 13
public apology made by ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah for
the Dhemaji bomb blast on August 15, 2004 and termed the apology
a ‘drama’.
The Special Operation Unit of Assam
Police submits the case diary pertaining to the January 1 bomb blast
in Bhangagarh and Paltan Bazar to the Court of the Chief Judicial
Magistrate of Kamrup District, according to Assam Tribune. The ULFA
‘foreign secretary’ Sasha Choudhury and ‘finance secretary’ Chitraban
Hazarika are accused in the blasts.
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December 13: The ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Barua apologises to the people of Assam for the bomb blast
at Dhemaji on August 15, 2004, killing 17 persons, including 16
school children. Barua, however, blames some of the former cadres
of the outfit for the blast and says they had misled the top ULFA
leadership by saying it was done by the Government machinery to
defame ULFA in the eyes of the people of Assam.
The former Chief Minister Prafulla
Kumar Mahanta accuses Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi of "telling
lies" over the "secret killings" issue. Gogoi, according
to him, had learnt to "tell lies", as none of the commissions
of inquiries constituted to probe the "secret killings"
were able to find the "non-existent proof". "Will
the chief minister pursue the widely published statement made by
Ulfa finance secretary Chitrabon Hazarika that his ministers and
officials had paid to Ulfa so that the truth is placed before the
people of the state? The ministers are said to have paid Ulfa for
helping the ruling Congress on various occasions," he adds.
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December 11: The ULFA asks the Union
Government for a plebiscite in Assam. "Talks, if any, have to be
on the issue of Assam's independence or sovereignty. If the government
cannot hold talks on the issue of sovereignty or independence, let
there be a plebiscite on the issue," ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Baruah said in an emailed statement to the local media in Guwahati.
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December 10: The arrested ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa and ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Barua said
during interrogation that family members of the outfit’ s ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Barua are still holed up in Bangladesh along with the family
members of Anup Chetia, another jailed ULFA leader.
Surrendered ULFA cadres kill six
persons at Singirmari in Nagaon District. Subsequently, several
hundred women along with the villagers of Rajagaon launch a search
operation to locate the culprits on the next day.
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December 9: The arrested ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa and ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju Baruah completely
rule out any possibility of negotiation with the Government without
outfit’s ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah before the Police and
the Government officials during interrogation. "Sovereignty
or no sovereignty, peace talks would reap benefits only when the
C-in-C comes forward for talks," Rajkhowa is said to have told
the interrogators.
Militant outfits in the Northeast—
the Manipur People’s Liberation Front, National Liberation Front
of Tripura (NLFT), Tripura People’s Democratic Front, and anti-talk
faction of the NDFB —said the people of the region engaged in "liberation
struggle" felt "betrayed" by Bangladesh’s handing
over of ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa and other leaders to India.
The Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
said in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) that talks with
the insurgent groups in the Northeast could be held only if they
laid down arms. Chidambaram said, "Our stand is clear. Lay
down arms, give up demands for sovereignty and talks can be held...
My appeal is common to all insurgent groups (in the northeast).
Give up demands for sovereignty and lay down your arms. This will
open the way for talks." Reminding the House that he had last
week hoped that the ULFA would make a political statement offering
talks with the Government, the Home Minister said, "No, such
offer has not come. If they make an offer, we will talk." He
added, "If there is an offer for talks, these will be conducted
with due dignity."
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December 8: Two Myanmar-trained
ULFA cadres surrender before Lakhimpur District authorities. They
are identified as Debashish Bhuyan alias Bipul and Bubul
Chowdung. They deposit a 9-mm pistol and .30 pistol at the time
of surrender.
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December
6: The Union Government said it is ready to hold peace talks with
ULFA. The Government, however, ruled out any discussion on the basis
of a demand voiced by a section of the banned militant outfit for
"sovereignty" of Assam. Sources said the ULFA was speaking
in different voices on the prospect of talks with the Centre. There
is no question of any discussion on the basis of "sovereignty"
for Assam, the sources said. Meanwhile, Paresh Baruah, ‘commander-in-chief’
of ULFA, on December 5 said that there was no confusion in the minds
of the ULFA cadres who want "sovereignty" for Assam to
be discussed in any dialogue, while denying a split in the outfit.
The Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi asked all militant groups of the State,
including the ULFA, to come forward for peace talks with the Government.
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December
5: Two ULFA militants, identified as Angshuman Bora alias Sabin
Buragohain, ‘self-styled sergeant major’ of the ‘28th battalion’
and Rinku Baruah alias Bitupan Baruah, ‘lance corporal’ of the same
battalion, surrendered before the Army personnel at Thakurbari Army
Camp in Sonitpur District.
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December
4: The ‘chairman’ of the ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa alias Rajiv Rajkonwar
and ‘Deputy Commander-in-Chief’ of the outfit, Raju Baruah, were
handed over to the BSF near Dawki sector of the India-Bangladesh
border in Meghalaya in the morning along with their family members.
Official sources said that they were handed over to the Assam Police
later. A team of the Assam Police brought them to Guwahati and they
have been kept in the Assam Police’s Special Branch headquarters
at Kahilipara area of Guwahati.
The official
sources in BSF said that Rajkhowa, his wife Kaberi Kachari and two
children, Raju Baruah, his wife and a child, wife and two children
of ULFA Foreign Secretary Sasha Choudhury and one Raja Bora, who
was the bodyguard of Rajkhowa, surrendered to the BSF and were handed
over to the Assam Police. Sources said that the ULFA members and
their family members looked tired when they were brought to the
city and "it seemed that they had to travel a long way", an official
added. Security sources said that the ULFA chairman may face as
many as nine cases under different sections of the IPC and the Arms
Act as well as Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for waging war
against the nation. He has specific cases against him in Jagiroad
and Sivasagar. Raju Baruah has two cases lodged against him and
the possibility of the police tracing out other cases against him
during the course of investigations cannot be ruled out. Sources
said that the wives of Rajkhowa and Sasha Choudhury were members
of the ULFA and they are likely to face trial. However, it is yet
to be ascertained whether Raju Baruah’s wife was a member of the
militant outfit. Police sources informed that top security officials,
including officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs, questioned
the arrested rebel leaders. The militant leaders are expected to
be produced tomorrow.
It was
reported in Assam Tribune that both the leaders were handed
over to BSF personnel somewhere in Tripura sector and flown in an
Indian Air Force aircraft from Agartala to a defence airfield and
was taken to an ITBP camp.
Hira
Saraniya, the ‘leader’ of the outfit’s 709th battalion said that
the arrested leaders of ULFA were keen for peace talk and a breakthrough
can be expected in the next few days. Official sources have claimed
that all the four ULFA battalions, following the arrest of ULFA
chairman and deputy commander Raju Baruah among others, are said
to have shown keenness in pursuing the peace talks route, provided
the Union Government agrees to entertain their charter of demands,
which may not feature the demand of sovereignty. This comes at a
time when the ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Paresh Baruah, through a press
release, had asked the arrested ULFA leaders, particularly chairman
Arabinda Rajkhowa, not compromise on the sovereignty issue. Official
sources, however, have not ruled out the possibility of Paresh Baruah
coming for talks, stating that the commanders of a couple of battalions
are expected to convey the message to the ‘C-in-C’ and prepare the
charter of demands accordingly.
Paresh
Baruah, ‘Commander-in-Chief’, asked the chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa
to clarify his stand on the issue of talks with the Government of
India. In a statement e-mailed to the media, Baruah said that he
had come to know about the fact that Rajkhowa along with the Military
Spokesman of the outfit Raju Baruah and Sergeant Raja Gogoi were
in the custody of the Indian Security Forces since December 2. He
said that the Government of India would like to take advantage of
the situation by forcing them to participate in the "so called talks"
with the Government. The media reports in the last couple of days
also indicated that the Government was trying to start "so called
talks" with the arrested ULFA leaders. Baruah called upon the ULFA
chairman to remember the demands and ideology of the ULFA and the
supreme sacrifices of more than 12,000 ULFA members. He appealed
to the ULFA chairman not to fall into the trap of the Government
of India to take part in "so called talks" and asked him to clarify
his position regarding talks.
The Union
Government said ULFA leaders, who surrendered, will have to face
judicial process as several cases were pending against them and
talks with the militant outfit will take place in "due course".
"(Arabinda) Rajkhowa and Raju Baruah have surrendered and then they
were arrested. They are now in Guwahati. They will be produced in
a court," Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai told to reporters when
asked about the fate of the ULFA leaders, who surrendered along
the Indo-Bangla border in Meghalaya. "They have just come. Everything
will take place in due course. Wait for that," he said. Asked about
the fate of the family members of Rajkhowa and others, Pillai said
as no cases were pending against the family members, they were free
to go. "Families are free," he added.
Sentinel
quoting an unnamed top Government official reports that the elusive
‘commander-in-chief’ of ULFA Paresh Baruah is hiding in Kachin area
of Myanmar, bordering China, and under the full grip of anti-India
forces like ISI of Pakistan. Baruah, who has been against holding
any peace dialogue with the Government, has fled from his hideout
in Bangladesh some time ago. "He is now in Kachin area of Myanmar,"
the official said. Several militant outfits in the Northeast have
training camps and bases in Kachin, which borders China’s Yunnan
province, which Baruah visits regularly.
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December
3: Unidentified militants shot dead one Nazrul Ali, the driver of
pro-talks ULFA ‘leader’ Russel Maradona, at Citnipara in Nalbari
District.
Three
prominent jailed ULFA leaders — ‘vice-chairman’ Pradip Gogoi, former
‘publicity secretary’ Mithinga Daimary and ‘cultural secretary’
Pranati Deka — said that there is a bleak future of peace talks
if Rajkhowa takes such a move sidelining Paresh Baruah and violating
ULFA’s constitution. The three ULFA leaders were produced in the
court in Guwahati. Talking to reporters, Mithinga Daimary said:
"Arabinda Rajkhowa alone can’t drop the sovereignty demand
that is in the constitution of the ULFA, and as such, he has no
right to go for peace talks without Paresh Baruah. If he holds peace
talks with the Government of India without Paresh Baruah and dropping
the demand for sovereignty, the jailed ULFA leaders won’t be with
him. Talks should be on sovereignty of Assam, and whether the demand
is met or not is a different matter. If Paresh Baruah gives his
nod to peace talks, the peace process may go on the right track."
On the reported arrest of Arabinda Rajkhowa, he said the Government
does not want any peace talks with the ULFA. "An arrested Rajkhowa
can’t do anything towards peace talks what a free Rajkhowa can,"
he added.
The Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi indicated that the much-awaited peace
talks with the ULFA might be held even without the presence of the
banned outfit’s still elusive ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah.
"I have all along been convinced that the problem of insurgency
has to arrive at some sort of political solution…If Paresh Baruah
comes that is well and good but my personal view is that a dialogue
can begin without him. This is also the desire of the people of
Assam who favour a peaceful solution of insurgency," Gogoi
said at a press conference.
The mother
of ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua, Miliki Barua (84), said
if the proposed peace process was initiated without her son then
the whole exercise would be "useless". She said, "All
the boys (the ULFA leadership) had set out together on a journey
to achieve something for Assam and if negotiations are held without
my son then the whole process will be useless". "If the
Government has the capacity, then it should bring all of them (ULFA
leaders hiding in other countries) back. All the boys went together
to realise a common goal, then why is the Government bringing back
some and leaving out the others?" she questioned. However,
she said that she was confident that her son would return if the
Government’s intention on the peace process was explained to him
and he was convinced.
Paresh
Baruah called up a member of the People’s Consultative Group, Hiranya
Saikia, asserting that the struggle for sovereignty of Assam would
continue even if some members of the outfit have come forward for
talks by giving up the demand and ideology of the ULFA. When contacted,
Saikia confirmed the phone call and said that the ULFA ‘commander
-in-chief’ was very assertive. "He said that if any member
of the outfit gives up the demand for sovereignty and come for talks
with the Government they are free to do so. He also asserted that
he would not give up the demand and ideology of the outfit and is
ready to continue the struggle for which more than 11,000 youths
laid down their lives," Saikia said.
The opposition
AGP party made an appeal to both the Government and ULFA to settle
the contentious issues through negotiation. In a statement in Guwahati,
the chief spokesman of the party, Atul Bora, said that none of the
parties should slap any condition for the negotiation. Moreover,
he said that the Governments in the State and at the Union should
involve all leaders of the militant group in the negotiation. In
the name of negotiation, the people of the State should not be deceived
again, said Bora. Blaming the Tarun Gogoi-led Government’s nine-year
term for the present volatile situation, said that the restoration
of peace is the only solution to it. The Government should not go
on reckless killing of youths in the name of containing insurgency.
It should go for political solution of the insurgency problem, he
added further.
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December 2: The Army
released photographs of ULFA two cadres, who had carried out the
November 22 Nalbari twin blasts claiming nine lives. Both the cadres,
Mohan alias Mahesh Rajbongshi and Hemanto Rajbongshi, belonged to
the ‘709th battalion’ of the ULFA, a press statement issued by Army
said.
The ‘chairman’ of
the ULFA Arabinda Rajkhowa and ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ Raju
Baruah were arrested in Dhaka. Both the ULFA leaders are likely
to be handed over to India, highly placed official sources said.
The sources said that Rajkhowa, whose movements were under scanner
of the Security Forces of Bangladesh since September 2009, was picked
up from a house in the suburbs of Dhaka city along with a few of
his associates. Sources said that the Government of Bangladesh already
intimated India about the detention of Rajkhowa and he is likely
to be handed over to India. Bangladesh has not registered any case
against Rajkhowa and he will be handed over to India as a part of
the assurance to hand over militant leaders of India taking shelter
in Bangladesh for years. Official sources said that intelligence
inputs indicated detention of the ‘deputy commander-in-chief’ of
the ULFA Raju Baruah. "The Government of Bangladesh is yet
to confirm the detention of Raju Baruah. The Government of Bangladesh
only informed India that the ULFA Chairman and a few others were
detained. But Indian intelligence agencies managed to obtain reports
confirming the detention of Raju Baruah," sources added. The
report adds that the ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa will fly
to Delhi after he is "pushed back" to Tripura from Bangladesh.
A high alert has
been sounded in Upper Assam Districts following the arrest of Arabinda
Rajkhowa. Police have tightened the security in the sensitive areas.
A meeting among the Security officials held in Jorhat to review
the security scenario and some new strategies were adopted to prevent
any kind of militant activities in the area.
The Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament)
that he would respond within 72 hours if the ULFA decided to hold
talks with the Government, reports Sentinel. He was responding to
a discussion on the internal security situation in the country.
He further said, "I hope that the ULFA leaders will release
a political statement on peace talks with the Union Government very
soon."
The detained ULFA
‘leader’ Mithinga Daimary said that Arabinda Rajkhowa alone cannot
sit for talks outside the ambit of the outfit’s constitution. He
termed Bangladesh’s recent offensive towards the ULFA militants
as a ‘betrayal.’
-
December 1: Bhim Kanta
Buragohain alias Mama, the ULFA idealogue who was arrested
during the Bhutan operation, was produced at Tezpur court in Sonitpur
District. Buragohain told reporters that he believed that talks
with the Indian Government could be held if the arrested leaders
of the outfit are unconditionally released.
The Union Home Minister
P Chidambaram clarified that the Union Government is yet to receive
any offer from ULFA to come for talks even as the Union Government
seems to have softened its stand on the presence of the elusive
commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah at the talks. When asked whether
the Government of India was willing to sit for negotiations minus
Paresh Baruah, he said, "Good, if they come for talks."
However, he also reiterated the same preconditions of abjuring violence,
surrendering weapons and dropping the demand for sovereignty before
coming for dialogue. "However, we have not received any offer
so far," he added.
An ULFA militant,
Gobin Ojha alias Kiran Jyoti Gogoi (29) and a KLNLF cadre, Arun
Terong alias John Mukran (37), laid down arms before the Inspector-General
of the Assam-Meghalaya frontier of the BSF, Prithvi Raj, at a surrender
ceremony during the 45th raising day of the Paramilitary Force in
Shillong. "Myanmar continues to be a safe haven for the ULFA
cadres after the ongoing crackdown on militants by the Bangladeshi
security forces," the ULFA cadre revealed. Ojha said three
camps of the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA were in Myanmar, located
adjacent to the camps of the NSCN-K. There were at present 110 ULFA
cadres in the three camps and among the prominent leaders housed
there include Konkon Gohain, Bijoy Chinese, Myanmar camp ‘commander’
Bijoy Das and Montu Saikia, he said. The militants said that the
new cadres had to trek several days to reach the camps set up in
a forest area in Myanmar. The ULFA cadre laid down one 7.65mm pistol
and 5 rounds of 7.65mm ammunition. The KLNLF militant, Terong, who
was the ‘finance commander’ of the outfit, laid down a 9-mm pistol.
-
November 30: Reports
also mentioned that the ULFA and NSCN-K were conducting joint training
for 30 newly recruited ULFA cadres in Mahadevpur, Pongchau and Bordumsa
Circles of Lohit, Tirap and Changlang Districts to prepare for a
possible Army crackdown in Assam and Nagaland.
-
November 29: The suspected ULFA militants
threatened a senior journalist of a local satellite news channel
in Guwahati, in what was seen as a ‘reaction’ to a talk show telecast
in the channel on the insurgency issue in the State. Nitumoni Saikia,
executive editor of News Live, was threatened by two armed militants
who came on a motor-cycle at Tiniali zoo in the Guwahati city and
cautioned him to avoid airing comments on the ULFA. The incident
occurred minutes after a talk show, hosted by Sakia, was aired projecting
the ULFA in poor light.
-
November 27: SFs neutralised
a bunker near a bamboo grove in the backyard of Harimal Barman,
a resident of Angardhowa Bilpara village in Baganpara area under
Borbori Police Station in Baksa District that was frequently used
by ULFA militants to draw up plans. The bunker, eight feet deep
and six feet wide, accommodates more than five persons. "At
least three militants took shelter inside the bunker last night,"
the Superintendent of Police, Nalbari, Jitmal Doley, said. "The
militants take shelter inside it usually at night," a Police
officer said, quoting Harimal, who informed the Police about the
bunker. Sources said the Police came to know about the bunker from
a photograph in a mobile phone found on a militant, Papu Sarania,
who was killed in an encounter at Tihu.
The ULFA ‘leaders’
Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika, who were produced before
the Court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Kamrup for the third time
since their arrest, were further remanded to another 10 days’ of
Police custody. Though the Assam Police’s SOU sought 18 days Police
custody of both the ULFA ‘leaders’ in connection with the January
1, 2009 blasts under Paltan Bazar Police Station and Bhangagarh
Police Station, the court, however, limited the custody to another
10 days, advocate Bijon Mahajan informed. The court also directed
that both the ULFA leaders would be kept in the SOU headquarters
in Kahilipara. It also directed investigating officers from both
the Police Stations to question them at the SOU headquarters itself
during the course of the Police custody.
-
November 26: One ULFA
cadre was arrested by Police in the evening from a Tezpur-bound
passenger bus near Tezpur Mission Chariali in Sonitpur District.
Police sources said that the arrestee was later identified as Rupam
Boro alias Ujjal Bora (22) of Debendranagar area under Barghat Police
Outpost in Tezpur. During interrogation he confessed that he joined
the outfit in 2006 and was a cadre of the 27th Battalion of ULFA.
Mina Gogoi alias
Akoni Gogoi alias Binita Bora, a woman ‘seargent’ of
28th battalion of ULFA, was arrested while four of her associates
managed to escape in a joint operation by SFs at Lahdoigarh in Namtola
under Sonari Police Station in Sivasagar District near Assam-Nagaland
border. She is the wife of Ramen Dadhumiya, ‘area commander’ of
the 28th battalion. She later confessed that the outfit had planned
to carry out blasts in the Charaideo subdivision of Sivasagar District.
A five kilogrammes of IED, a pistol, some photographs and a register
containing details of funds collected by the outfit in Charaideo
subdivision were recovered from her.
Police launched a massive
search to recover five kilogrammes of RDX which was kept in the
house of Krishna Rajbongshi at Goroimari Panigaon in Nalbari District,
who had allegedly planted one of the bicycle bombs in Nalbari on
November 22. Krishna, who was arrested in the night of November
25, also confessed before Police that there were three more bicycles
stuffed with explosives and ready to be detonated. A Police Officer
said Krishna did not know about the location of the cycles. "We
are trying to find out," he said, adding that Krishna was still
being interrogated. Meanwhile, a college lecturer Narayan Thakuria
and ULFA linkman Kumud Thakuria were also arrested for their suspected
involvement in the twin blasts. "We only found the pit but
the explosives which were in it were missing. Probably ULFA removed
the RDX after they heard of Krishna’s arrest," the Police Officer
said. "Five kilogrammes of RDX can have a devastating impact
depending on where and how the explosives are placed," he said.
The Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram on November 25 told a delegation of the People’s
Committee for Peace Initiatives in Assam (PCPIA) that the Government
is ready for talks with the ULFA provided the outfit abjures violence.
Chidambaram also told the delegation that the PCPIA should try to
persuade the ULFA to come for talks with the Government. The delegation
was accompanied by a Parliamentarian belonging to the AGP party,
Biren Baishya. The delegation that is in Delhi to lobby for resumption
of the dialogue with ULFA has so far met Union Minister of State
in PMO Prithviraj Chavan on November 25 to submit a memorandum to
restart the peace process stalled since last couple of years. However,
the possibility of the Centre heeding to their demands appears remote,
with Union Home Minister P Chidambaram expressing his skepticism
on the ground that the remaining top leaders are all based abroad
and not keen for negotiations. The Union Ministry of Home Affairs
is of the opinion that ULFA, currently under pressure because of
the crackdown in Bangladesh and arrest of two top leaders, may be
at its old game of seeking to buy time by throwing the bait of peace
talks.
The ULFA’s central
committee leader Mithinga Daimary, currently lodged in the Guwahati
Jail, said that the ULFA was not responsible for the recent bomb
blasts at Nalbari, adding that peace talks between the banned outfit
and the Union Government was the only way to find a political solution
to the conflict.
-
November 25: One top
ranking ULFA militant, identified as Mohan Roy alias Mama alias
Sukumar Kurmi, was shot dead in an encounter with SFs at No. 2 area
of Bishnupur in Chirang District around 10.30 AM in the morning.
Police sources confirmed that the slain ULFA militant was involved
in the recent blasts at Nalbari. He was the ‘second-in-command of
the 709th battalion’ of ULFA.
The Union Home Minister
P. Chidambaram on November 24 stated in Parliament that the Government
was not going to relent in its operations against the ULFA, reports
Telegraph. He said, "Owing to the counter-insurgency operations,
ULFA has come under tremendous pressure. Its leadership is in disarray.
Key ULFA leaders are in prison. Recently, two ULFA leaders surrendered
to the Indian SFs. Three ULFA leaders are believed to be abroad
and there are reports of serious differences among them. Against
this background, it is our assessment that the recent incidents
manifest the desperation of the banned ULFA. The State Government
and the SFs are determined to intensify the counter-insurgency operations
against ULFA and Ranjan Daimary fraction of NDFB."
The ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa said the Minister’s statement was a reflection
of the Government’s "colonial" mindset. He mentioned, "Our stand
is clear. We will not fall at India’s feet just for the sake of
talks." "The minister’s comments only confirm the fact that India
does not have the courage to sit across the table on the issue of
sovereignty," Rajkhowa said, adding that the outfit was keen on
a political settlement with Delhi but not at the cost of its own
pride and dignity.
A senior member of
the PCG, Mukul Mahanta, said that the given stand of both the Centre
and ULFA, any hope of a "negotiated" settlement had all but evaporated.
-
November 24: Sentinel
quoting intelligence sources said a group of the ULFA militants
comprising 10 cadres, including a woman cadre, has entered Assam
through the Assam-Nagaland border and sheltering in its adjoining
areas to carry out subversive activities in the District. Sources
also said the proscribed militant group has been restructuring itself
in five upper Assam districts since last couple of months. Sources
said the militant group has been carrying out a new membership drive
in upper Assam Districts particularly in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and
Sivasagar.
-
November 23: A ULFA
cadre, Dhanti Dutta, was arrested by the Assam Rifles personnel
at Lungwa-Phomching road in Mon District. One 303 rifle along with
magazine and 10 live rounds and other incriminating documents were
recovered from his possession.
-
November 23: The ‘chairman’
of the ULFA, Arabinda Rajkhowa, condemned the blasts in Nalbari
town on November 22 and said that the blasts were aimed at derailing
the peace process. In a statement sent to the media through e-mail,
the ULFA ‘chairman’ said that the blasts were triggered off by the
enemies of the indigenous people of Assam. He called upon all concerned,
including the militant outfits, to desist from killing innocent
people and asked the authorities to pay adequate compensation to
the families of those killed.
-
November 22: Suspected ULFA militants triggered
two powerful bomb blasts barely 50 meters from the Sadar Police
Station in Nalbari town, which killed seven people and injured 54
others at around 10 AM in the morning. The IEDs, planted on two
bicycles, were kept in front of a tea stall and a saloon which were
blown up. The deceased were identified as Paban Thakur, the owner
of a nearby saloon, Sikandar Thakur, an employee of the saloon,
Dipu Das, a driver, Ganesh Das, a businessman, Keshab Das, an employee
of an insurance company and Mahabat Ali, a gaonburah (village head
man) of Nalbari town. The Superintendent of Police of Nalbari District,
Jitmal Doley, said that ULFA militants are suspected to be behind
the blasts.
The ULFA is responsible for the Nalbari blasts,
said Health Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma in a press meet organised
at Silchar Medical College.
The ULFA denied its involvement in twin bomb blasts
in Nalbari. "ULFA is in no way involved in the bomb blasts and it
is just a conspiracy by a certain section to derail the talks process,"
Hira Sarania, the 'commander' of the 709th Battalion
of ULFA, told a news channel. "The allegation is totally motivated
and has been made to discredit the organisation. There have been
several occasions in the past too when such misinformation had been
made against us," Sarania added.
-
November 20: The SFs shot dead a ULFA militant,
a hitman of the outfit who led the Golaghat train attack, at Padumguri
under Jalukbari Police station in Guwahati city. A police official
said two suspected militants had got down from a truck on Guwahati
bypass (National Highway 37) in the morning and were walking down
Binoy Tamuli Path at Padumguri under Jalukbari Police Station when
a Police team spotted them and asked them to stop. "They started
running while firing at us. One of the militants, who was carrying
a backpack, managed to escape under the cover of fog and darkness.
But his accomplice was hit by bullets," he added. A 7.65mm bore
pistol and three rounds of ammunition were recovered from the site.
-
November 19: The ULFA has set up bases in China
and other foreign countries with the help of money extorted in the
State, two senior ULFA leaders, Chitrabon Hazarika and Sashadhar
Choudhury, have reportedly told the Police during interrogation.
ULFA 'foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury and 'finance secretary'
Chitraban Hazarika, now in Police remand since November 6, 2009,
told interrogators that apart from Bangladesh they have bases in
China and other foreign countries. "Millions of rupees have been
extorted from Assam and transferred to ULFA leaders in Bangladesh,
China and other countries where they have established hideouts,"
the Special Operations Unit (SOU) of Assam Police quoted the two
leaders as confessing. Several foreign agencies and NGOs provided
logistic assistance to the ULFA leaders in foreign countries. The
interrogation report was submitted to the Chief Judicial Magistrate's
court in Guwahati. Sashadhar Choudhury and Chitrabon Hazarika also
confessed that their 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah is not only
procuring arms from Chinese manufacturers but also selling them
to militant outfits such as NDFB, NLFT, ATTF and CPI-Maoist.
-
November 17: Suspected ULFA militants blew up a
petrol-laden train at Changpool in the Golaghat District. The train
was bound for the State of Uttar Pradesh from the Numaligarh Refinery
Ltd (NRL). A railway spokesperson said that the train with 48 wagons
of high-speed diesel and petrol from the NRL caught fire near Changpool.
At least 20 wagons went up in flames and a loss of INR 100 million
has been estimated, officials said. "We initially thought that the
fire broke out after the train jumped the rails. But now we believe
that it was because of a powerful explosion on the rail track. We
have managed to recover wires and other materials used in triggering
blasts from the site," a senior Assam Police official said. At least
10 more wagons were derailed and the petroleum product spilled on
to the ground. The area is a stronghold of both the ULFA and AANLA.
-
November 15: Former ULFA 'spokesman' Sunil Nath
said that a small ULFA team from Assam went to Jaffna in Sri Lanka
in the early 1990s when the LTTE controlled the northern peninsula.
"We got in touch with the LTTE through a Tamil Nadu politician."
Sunil Nath said in a telephonic interview from Assam. According
to Sunil Nath, who has since quit the ULFA and is now a journalist,
two ULFA militants were picked to spend some time getting training
from the LTTE. But the ULFA men returned to India within a week.
The ULFA leaders, Sashadhar Choudhury and Chitraban
Hazarika, claimed that the 'commander-in-chief' of the outfit, Paresh
Baruah, was the main person running the group currently. They claimed
that Baruah keeps shifting to countries like China, Myanmar and
Thailand and he still has strong contacts in China.
-
November 12: The 'cultural secretary' of ULFA, Pranati
Deka, said that peace talks between the Government and the ULFA
are possible if the former wants so. Replying to a reporter's queries
when she was being produced in the court in Guwahati in connection
with a case against her, Deka said "The ULFA problems can be solved
if the Government of India takes steps with due respect to our demands.
I believe in peaceful solution to the ULFA problems through talks."
-
November 11: 19 militants belonging to the NDFB,
KLNLF, AANLA and ULFA surrendered before the Dah Division's headquarter
at Dinjan in Dibrugarh District. Speaking on the occasion, Major
General B.S. Sachar, the GOC of Dah Division, attributed the large-scale
surrender to the peace initiatives of the Government and support
from the local people.
-
November 10: A group of newly trained ULFA militants
have reportedly been asked to enter Assam and launch attacks to
avenge the arrest of the outfit's leaders Chitrabon Hazarika and
Sasha Choudhury, intelligence sources have revealed, triggering
a security alert along the India-Myanmar border. A source said radio
intercepts over the last few days suggested that a group comprising
about 25 cadres from the 28th battalion had been asked to break
up into smaller units to enter Assam. "We believe there could be
strikes in retaliation to the arrest of Choudhury and Hazarika to
show ULFA is as strong as ever," a source in the Army said. The
28th battalion had recruited about 50-60 cadres in 2008, soon after
the Alpha and the Charlie companies of the battalion came over-ground
by declaring a unilateral cease-fire. "These cadres have completed
training in Myanmar and Nagaland's Mon District and are ready for
battle," the unnamed official said.
-
November 9: The dawn-to-dusk Assam bandh
(shutdown) called by the ULFA passed of peacefully, evoking mixed
response. The outfit called the bandh in protest against the arrest
of two of its top leaders, Sasha Choudhury and Chitraban Hazarika.
-
November 8: Two unidentified ULFA cadres were shot
dead by the Police in an encounter at Guardal on the Tihu-Akhara
Road in Nalbari District in the evening. Police sources said that
two ULFA cadres laid an ambush targeting Nalbari SP Jitmol Doley
and fired at the SP and other personnel accompanying him. In the
encounter that followed, the two ULFA cadres were shot dead. Two
9 mm pistols were recovered from the possession of the slain militants.
-
November 7: Two top ULFA leaders, Sashadhar Choudhury
and Chitraban Hazairka, were produced by the Special Operation Unit
of the Assam Police in the court of Chief Metropolitan Judicial
Magistrate of Kamrup. Although the Police sought 14-day custody
of the two, the court remanded them to 10 days, said Bijan Mahajan,
senior advocate and counsel for the two ULFA leaders. The ULFA leaders,
believed to have been arrested in Dhaka in the midnight of November
1 and handed over to the BSF in Tripura on November 6, were flown
in a chartered aircraft to the city and immediately taken away to
headquarters of the Special Branch of Assam Police at Kahilipara.
However, replying to questions from journalists, Choudhury said
they had not surrendered and that Bangladesh Police commandos arrested
them. Of the 16 members of the ULFA's central executive committee,
four are in a Guwahati jail: 'vice-chairman' Pradip Gogoi, 'adviser'
Bhimkanta Buragohain, 'cultural secretary' Pranati Deka, 'central
publicity secretary' Mithinga Daimari. Another leader Ramu Mech
is on parole.
The ULFA called for a 12-hour State wide general
shutdown from 6 a.m. on November 9 demanding unconditional release
of the two arrested leaders. In a statement issued through an e-mail,
ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa described the arrest of the two
leaders as a "ploy to sabotage the process of finding a political
solution to the problem and destroy ULFA militarily."
-
November 6: The 'foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury
and 'finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika of ULFA surrendered before
the BSF personnel at Gokul Nagar BSF camp, 20 kilometres south of
Agartala city, along the India-Bangladesh international border in
the Tripura in the night. Bangladesh Security Agencies neutralised
some hideouts of leaders of the ULFA in the night of November 1,
prompting the cadres to flee. Internal clashes among ULFA cadres
are also said to have forced some militants to flee. During interrogation,
the ULFA leaders confessed they fled the neighbouring country as
they were facing threat to their lives from their colleagues, the
official sources said. The internal sources, however, said that
the two ULFA leaders were handed over by the BDR to BSF after DGFI
personnel picked them up from a safe house in Uttara area of Dhaka
following high-level diplomatic intervention by India. As reported
on November 5, India had opened diplomatic channels as soon as it
was confirmed that the leaders were detained by security agencies
in Dhaka on November 1-night. Meanwhile, sources reported that the
former KLO 'chief' Jiban Singh, who is presently under the custody
of Bangladesh Police, has reportedly informed the Bangladesh security
forces about the whereabouts of the ULFA leaders in Bangladesh.
Bangladesh authorities had assured India of greater cooperation
in the coming months against the anti-India militant outfits based
there and also of the possible handing over of top leaders like
Ranjan Daimary of the pro-sovereignty faction of NDFB and Biswamohan
Debbarma of NLFT. The sudden crackdown by Dhaka is seen as part
of a fresh initiative to please India ahead of the Bangladesh Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina's ensuing visit to India.
-
November 5: Following confirmation of detention
of two top ULFA leaders by Bangladesh, India opened diplomatic channels
to get them back into the country. The 'deputy commander-in-chief'
of ULFA, Raju Baruah, however, claimed that their two leaders were
already handed over to India by Bangladesh. Without naming India,
Raju Baruah told a section of media in Assam through e-mail or telephonic
talk that Bangladeshi intelligence officials arrested the duo from
the Sector 3 area in Dhaka and handed them over to the "enemy".
Raju Baruah further said that Bangladesh Police had raided some
other areas in Dhaka where, they believed, the ULFA chairman Arabinda
Rajkhowa was hiding. He also warned Bangladesh that the sovereignty
of the country would be at stake if it did not set Sashadhar and
Chitraban free. Meanwhile, the Indian Home Ministry officials denied
this claim made by the ULFA.
Suspected ULFA militants shot dead a 13-year-old
nephew of a surrendered ULFA (SULFA) cadre, apparently in a case
of mistaken identity, in the Balichapori village under Garmurh Police
station of Majuli in the Jorhat District in the night. The Police
also recovered two empty cartridges of AK-47 rifles from the incident
site. Jintu Bora, a Class VIII student of Kathimotia High School,
was shot dead when he and his uncle, Dipak Bora, a surrendered ULFA
cadre, were about to enter their house at Balichapori village under
around 11pm (IST) after returning from Ras festivities. Sources
said Dipak was the target of the ULFA militants as he was a Police
informer and had played a crucial role in the killing of ULFA militant
Amrit Dutta, a key accused in the Sanjoy Ghose murder case. Dutta
was killed in an encounter with SFs in Majuli early 2009. Dipak
had joined ULFA in 1995 and was a cadre of the Bravo Company of
28th Battalion and later surrendered in 2007.
-
November 4: Dulen Saikia, a surrendered ULFA militant,
was arrested by the Guwahati City Police on charges of collecting
extortion money in the name of the ULFA outfit.
-
November 3: Two persons were arrested by the Police
when they were trying to extort money in the guise of ULFA cadres
in capital Dispur. "The fake ULFA cadres were arrested after a tip-off,"
Police said.
-
November 2: Two suspected ULFA militants were arrested
by the Security Force personnel at an unidentified location in the
Morigaon District. A 9 mm pistol with six rounds of ammunition and
a motorcycle were recovered from the possession of the arrested
militants.
-
November 1: The 'foreign secretary' Sashadhar Choudhury
and 'finance secretary' Chitraban Hazarika of the ULFA were arrested
by intelligence officials from the Sector 3 area of Dhaka in the
midnight.
-
October 29: The Union Government initiated its first
round of formal talks with the pro-talks faction of the ULFA. Leaders
of the pro-talks faction, Mrinal Hazarika, Jiten Dutta and Prabal
Neog, held nearly an hour-long meeting with the Assistant Director
of Intelligence Bureau, R.N. Ravi, in Guwahati. "We hope that the
talks will lead us to the right direction," Mrinal Hazarika said
after the meeting. The pro-talks ULFA faction had earlier announced
it was giving up its demand for sovereignty or independence and
instead wanted greater autonomy, inner-line permit, total sealing
of international border etc for Assam. There were no representatives
from the Assam Government in the meeting.
-
October 25: The ULFA alleged that the Government
of India is not interested in restoration of permanent peace in
Assam. In a statement e-mailed to the media, the ULFA chairman Arabinda
Rajkhowa said that the Government of India was adopting different
yardstick for talks with different outfits. He said the Government
has been demanding that the ULFA should surrender weapons for talks,
while, talks with Naga outfits have been going on for years without
surrender of arms. Rajkhowa said the Chief Minister of West Bengal
even released as many as 23 members of Maoist groups to hold talks
with them and the Government of India has been adopting a separate
policy only for Assam.
-
October 23: A suspected ULFA militant,
believed to be on a bombing mission to the Guwahati city, was shot
dead in an encounter with Police at Pamohi under Gorchuk Police
Station around 2 AM (IST). A 9mm pistol and a polythene bag containing
one-and-a-half kilograms of explosive powder, detonators and timers
were recovered from the incident site. "On examination, bomb experts
said the powder could be TNT. However, we have sent samples to the
Forensic Science Laboratory at Kahilipara for confirmation," the
Police official said.
-
October 22: Five ULFA militants,
including a girl, surrendered before the Assam Police in Goalpara
District. They were identified as Jayanta Rabha, Machin Rabha, Dulendra
Rabha, Durgeswar Rabha and Damayanti Rabha. They deposited an AK-56
rifle and two pistols.
Two cadres of the 28th
battalion of the ULFA surrendered before the Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner
Gyanendra Dev Tripathy in Dibrugarh District. The duo was identified
as Sontu Changmai alias Bijoy Bailung and Pranab Duwara alias Simanta
Gogoi. They deposited two pistols along with eight rounds live ammunition
and a radio set.
-
October 20: The Bangladesh Government
on October 19 launched a massive hunt for arresting some cadres
of two Indian militant outfits — United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), including its
‘chief’ D.K. Roy, according to Sentinel. In the light of information
extracted from ‘military commander’ of the ULFA Bimol Roy during
his interrogation at the Task Force Interrogation (TFI) cell Security
Force personnel are trying to arrest the militants, sources close
to the TFI cell said. Bimol confessed that he was an active member
of ULFA, the sources said. D.K. Roy, chief of the KLO, provided
Bimol with shelter at his Dhaka’s Pallabi residence. D.K. Roy, who
is suspected to have stolen the Nobel Prize citation of Rabindranath
Tagore from Shanti Niketan in India, has been residing in Bangladesh
for many years, the sources added. A team of the Detective Branch
arrested Bimol from the Pallabi residence of D. K. Roy on October
6. After the expiry of remand, the Police also took Bimol on a fresh
three-day remand on October 8.
-
October 19: A cache of arms and
ammunition were recovered from Amarpur and Deopani Reserve forests
under Sadiya Police Station in Tinsukia District. The cache, hidden
in sacks and buried by suspected United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) militants in the forests, include one AK-56 rifle, one SLR,
a grenade launcher, four 9-mm pistols, four pen pistols, two grenades,
13 pistol magazines, 35 kilograms of RDX and some currency.
The Security Forces recovered a
letter which shows evidence of the ULFA purchasing arms from the
LTTE of Sri Lanka. The letter, written in Assamese, mentioned that
the outfit had paid a huge amount of money to the LTTE very recently
to purchase arms. "The money was probably paid just before
the downfall of the LTTE," a senior army officer said. Although
there were unconfirmed reports earlier about ULFA’s links with the
LTTE, the letter was the first hard evidence of such links.
-
October 18: Five militants, including
a woman, of the 28th battalion of the ULFA were arrested. Two militants,
hailing from Amguri in the Sibsagar District, were arrested from
the Hengerabari area of Guwahati city. In addition, three more militants,
including the woman, were arrested from the Gandhibasti area of
Guwahati. A 9-mm pistol along with some arms and ammunition were
recovered from the possession of the arrested militants. While two
of them were identified as a militant couple from Sibsagar, the
other one hailed from Sualkuchi near Guwahati.
-
October 14: Union Home
Minister P. Chidambaram said the Union Government would hold talks
with the ULFA only after it lays down arms and warned that otherwise
Security Forces would take appropriate action.
The Government of Bangladesh
has directed the Security Forces to keep vigilance to prevent any
kind of subversive activities by the ULFA in the country. State
Minister for Home Shamsul Haque Tuku told. Referring to the recent
crackdown on militants, the minister said no militants would be
able to escape the dragnet.
-
October 12: The Army
personnel arrested one ULFA cadre, identified as Paresh Deka, from
Chamatiapara village near Deomornai area in Darrang District.
-
October 11: A ULFA militant, identified as Prasanta
Bora, was arrested by the Police from New Balighat area of Lakhimpur
District. Bora belongs to the 28th Battalion of the outfit.
-
October 7: One ULFA militant was shot dead during
an encounter with the Army personnel at Donghap hill under Dokmoka
Police Station in Karbi Anglong District at around 4.10am (IST).
However, another ULFA militant was managed to escape taking advantage
of the dense forest. An Italy-made pistol along with some empty
cartridges was recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
-
October 3: Three ULFA militants were shot dead by
troops during an encounter near Kendubari village in the Nalbari
District. "Based on specific intelligence about the presence of
three ULFA militants in the area, an army column laid an ambush
and there was a firefight in which the militants were shot dead,"
an Army official said. A carbine, pistols, grenades, detonators
and gelatine sticks were recovered from the possession of the slain
militants. "Probably the militants were planning to strike during
the Durga Puja festival and hence carrying explosives," the official
added.
-
September 26: Two unidentified militants shot dead
a surrendered ULFA cadre, Gunojit Bhorali (30), at Baganpara in
Baksa District.
-
September 23: The ULFA is reported to have shifted
its bases and training camps from Bangladesh to Kachin in eastern
Myanmar. Army intelligence sources said there was credible information
that the ULFA had set up camps in Kachin jointly with militant groups
of Manipur like the PLA and UNLF. The ULFA has made the move with
the help of Kachin rebels, mainly the KIA, which is in a cease-fire
with the military regime in Myanmar, they added. "It is back to
square one for ULFA. During its initial days, the outfit had its
training camps in Kachin but later shifted to Bangladesh. Now, the
outfit is back to Kachin, which is indeed disturbing news for us,"
a source said.
-
September 18: The Police arrested two militants
of the '27th battalion' of ULFA, identified as Satya Baishya and
Abdul Mazan Bora, from Baihata Chariali in Kamrup District. A revolver
and three rounds of ammunition, a motorcycle, ULFA's letter pad
and some extortion notes were recovered from their possession.
The SFs arrested an ULFA linkman, Jaiprakash Rai
(27) of Khudra Derugaon Suterpara village in Kokrajhar District.
-
September 16: Police arrested two ULFA militants
at Panitema and Dhirenpra respectively in Kamrup District. Police
arrested Hemanta Deka (30) at Panitema Village under Kamalpur Police
station. Following his confession, another ULFA militant, Bakul
Boro, was arrested at Dhirenpara in Guwahati. Some writing pads
of the outfit and a number of mobile SIM cards were recovered from
their possession. The arrested ULFA cadres belong to the 709th
battalion.
Police arrested two ULFA linkmen who demanded extortion
money of INR four hundred thousand from a school teacher of Mulabari
area in Baihata Chariali. The duo were identified as Bhabajyoti
Choudhury and Kalyan Nath of Baihata Chariali.
Assam Government's Principal Secretary (Home), Subhas
Das, visited the Kakopathar designated camp of the pro-talks faction
of the ULFA in Tinsukia District, where he held a discussion with
its leaders.
-
September 15: The self-styled 'sergeant major' of
28th battalion of the ULFA, Niren Sharma alias
Tarun Gogoi, surrendered before the SFs during a surrender ceremony
held at Dinjan Military Station in Dibrugarh District. He deposited
one AK 56 rifle and a hand grenade. Niren, who hailed from Sivasagar
District, had been with the outfit since 1987 and had received military
training in Bhutan in 1997. His wife Devika Gohain, a 'second lieutenant'
of the 28th battalion of ULFA, was arrested by the Army
personnel on September 3.
-
September 10: SFs arrested two ULFA militants, identified
as Binoy Baruah alias Dibyajyoti Gohain (24), a resident
of Kathalguri village, and Tilanku Moran alias Satyajit Moran
alias Sanakya (26), a resident of Mamaroni village, from
Kakojan in the Tinsukhia District. Sources said that the SFs started
operations based on reports about extortion demands being placed
on small tea estates and businessmen in the area. Two 9-mm pistols,
seven live rounds, extortion pads, mobile phones and other incriminating
material were recovered from the possession of the arrested militants.
Sources added that these two militants were absconders from the
ULFA cease-fire group camp at Kakopathar.
The TADA court in Guwahati sentenced Ronkur Dutta,
a senior ULFA cadre, to life imprisonment. Dutta was accused of
murdering a Police officer.
-
September 7: Police arrested one suspected ULFA
cadre, Hemchandra Moran (30), son of Umesh Moran of Bormesai village
of Kokopathar, on charges of extortion from Chabua area of Dibrugarh
District. The Police arrested Hemchandra when he along with another
militant went to Dikam Sessa for collection of extortion money.
However, the other militant managed to escape. Police recovered
a two wheeler used by the militant.
-
September 6: A ‘Sergeant Major’
of the 709th Battalion of the ULFA, Pranay Ray alias Prabin
alias Manaranjan (32), was shot dead by the Security Force personnel
in a search operation at Kalipukri under Kokrajhar Police Station
of Kokrajhar District. Police sources said that the slain militant
was taking shelter in the house of one Biren Roy at Tilapara village.
One 7.62 mm pistol with 19 live ammunition, one Chinese-made grenade,
four mobile handsets, a satellite phone, one detonator, two empty
cartridges and incriminating documents were recovered from the possession
of the slain militant.
-
September 3: The SFs arrested a
‘second lieutenant’ of the ULFA, Devika Gohain, from Titlaghar in
the Sivasagar District. Devika, the wife of ULFA leader Niren Sarma,
was arrested from the residence of Ajit Bharali.
-
September 1: A ‘sergeant major’
of the ULFA, Niren Sarma, was shot dead in an encounter with the
SFs at Bhaskarbari Chariali in the Dibrugarh District. One pistol,
six rounds of ammunition and a mobile phone were recovered from
his possession.
-
August 30: The two employees of a Garo Hills-based
cement company, abducted by suspected ULFA militants on August 21,
were released in the Rongjuli area of Goalpara District. According
to sources, the duo, Virgo Cement Industries manager Sambhu Dhanuka
and chief engineer PK Hori, were abducted from near the cement plant
at Damas on the Meghalaya-Assam border in the afternoon. They were
held hostage for ransom at Simantala village in Goalpara District.
Though it is not yet known who the abductors were, Assam Police
suspect that the Viper Rabha Army, a lesser-known militant group,
was involved in the incident. Viper Rabha Army is believed to enjoy
the patronage of Assam-based ULFA. The ULFA had reportedly hired
the services of Viper Rabha Army for its activities in Goalpara
and parts of Garo Hills. However, the ULFA has denied any role in
the abduction.
-
August 29: SFs shot dead two ULFA militants at Nagapara
hills under Boko Police station in the Kamrup District. Army sources
said about four militants were taking shelter in a house and when
the SFs raided the house, the militants opened fire. In the ensuing
gunbattle, two militants died while two others escaped under cover
of darkness. The site of the incident is about 50 kilometers from
the capital city Guwahati. Though the two militants are yet to be
identified, Police claimed that both were from the 709th battalion
of ULFA and probably new recruits. One five kilograms of improvised
explosive device, a grenade, one 9-mm pistol, ammunition and an
unspecified amount of Bangladeshi currency notes were recovered
from the possession of the slain militants.
-
August 27: Two unidentified ULFA militants were
shot dead at Golbeel under Barma Police Station in the Baksa District
in the morning.
-
August 26: SF personnel arrested three ULFA cadres,
identified as Dilip Kalita alias Pranjal Deka, Thaneshwar Kalita
alias Thanu and Dina Kalita from Debananda Satra village in Mangaldai
District, reports Sentinel. According to sources the militants were
belong to 27th Battalion of ULFA. Five black extortion notes were
recovered from their possession.
-
August 23: The Government of India
asked Bangladesh to deport ULFA leader Anup Chetia, reports Assam
Tribune. Chetia, whose real name is Golap Baruah, has been in jail
since his arrest in Dhaka in January 1998 from Shyamoli area under
the Foreigners Act and the Passports Act. After completion of Chetia’s
jail term, India has asked Bangladesh to handover him. Bangladesh
has so far not given any response but India is hopeful that it would
accede to the request considering the new Government’s resolve to
root out terrorism and the new impetus being imparted to bilateral
ties. Chetia has been seeking political asylum in Bangladesh or
deportation to any country other than India but those petitions
are pending.
Sentinel quoting an unconfirmed
report said that the Union Government has already contacted the
ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah through middlemen and expressed
its willingness for unconditional peace talks with the outfit outside
India. The ULFA is yet to react to the recent media report that
Paresh Baruah was arrested from a hideout in Manipur.
Police arrested one ULFA militant,
Montu Kachari of Numuligarh, and a linkman, Tapan Bora of Baruah
Gaon, from Bokakhat town in the Golaghat District. Some extortion
notes were recovered from their possession.
-
August 21: Two senior employees
of a cement factory were abducted by suspected ULFA militants from
near their factory at Damas area in the afternoon, when they were
traveling in a vehicle to their main office at Dudhnoi of Goalpara
District in Assam. They were identified as Sambu Danuka and P.K.
Hori. Subsequently, the Police recovered the abandoned vehicle from
Miapara village, five kilometers away from Damas. Sources said the
prime suspect was the ‘108 battalion’ of the ULFA led by Gulit Das
which was operating in the area. Unconfirmed reports indicated that
the ULFA carried out the abduction in retaliation for the company
not complying with its demand for a huge amount of ‘donations’.
-
August 20: Telegraph reports
that the pro-talks group of the ULFA has sought an urgent discussion
with the Assam Government as their cadres were getting frustrated
after waiting for more than a year. "If we do not get a positive
response, we will have to decide on our future course of action,"
Prabal Neog, a leader of the pro-talks faction, who has been camping
in the capital Guwahati since August 19, told. He said he would
meet Principal Secretary (Home) S.C. Das as soon as he returns from
Delhi. Neog said the cadres were frustrated and it had become difficult
for the leaders to keep on convincing them that there would be some
progress. He said several cadres have already deserted the designated
camps in the past few months and a few have joined the ULFA while
some have surrendered to the Security Forces. Jiten Dutta, another
leader of the group, said the blame would rest entirely on the Government
if talks failed this time and the cadres took some drastic steps.
"We will not say now as to what we will do but we will take some
decisive steps. The government has turned a deaf ear towards the
issue. Despite repeated requests to clear its stand, there is simply
no response from the government. This will be our final meeting
with the government as we want to clear the air once and for all,"
he warned. The cadres of the pro-talks group are at present housed
in three designated camps in the Tinsukia and Nalbari Districts.
-
August 19: The CBI filed a chargesheet
in Dr P.C. Ram abduction case before the court of Chief Judicial
Magistrate in Guwahati and stated that the ULFA was paid INR 3.2
million on June 5, 2007 as the first instalment of the demanded
ransom. The money was handed over to an ULFA cadre, Tapan Rai, near
the Lokapriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport on the same
day. The abductors had demanded INR 2100 million for the release
of the senior Food Corporation of India official. Amongst the 17
persons charge-sheeted, top ranking leader and ‘commander’ of the
‘709 battalion’ of the ULFA, Hira Sarania, has been named as the
prime conspirator. Rabiram Basumatary, the driver of FCI Executive
Director Dr. P.C. Ram, was also named as one of the conspirators,
though his name along with six others did not feature in the chargesheet
as they had died during the course of the investigation. All the
accused have been charge sheeted under Sections 120(b) (criminal
conspiracy) and 364(a) (abduction for ransom) of the Indian Penal
Code. Six Police officials who were arrested earlier in this connection
have, however, been acquitted. Dr Ram, who was abducted from near
his Sreenagar residence on April 17, remained in the abductor’s
custody till his death in a cross-fire between Police and his abductors
on July 12, 2007.
-
August 16: A ULFA militant, identified
as Khogen Konwar alias Nayan Jyoti Gogoi, was arrested from
Bhojo railway station under Sonari Police station in Sivasagar District.
-
August 14: Seven TNT slabs, each weighing about
1.5 kilograms, 10 electronic detonators, six 9-volt batteries and
a bundle of fuse wire, were recovered near Ukium on the outskirts
of Guwahati along the Assam-Meghalaya border. The arrest of a ULFA
cadre, Mintu Rabha alias Raju, from Jyotinagar in Guwahati led to
the recovery. The explosives were hidden under stones. A 9-mm pistol
was also recovered from the possession of Rabha.
-
August 13: A ULFA bomb expert heading for oil town
Duliajan was arrested by a combined team of the Army, Central Reserve
Police Force personnel and local Police from a night super bus near
Dirai under Rajgarh Police Outpost of Dibrugarh District.
-
The BSF personnel arrested one active ULFA linkman,
identified as Mukti Bora (32), at Pushpa Bandha Chaudang Pathar
village in Golaghat District. According to official sources, Bora
tried to escape when the Police entered his house during the operation.
The BSF recovered a demand draft amounting to INR five hundred thousand,
signed by a senior cadre of the '28th battalion' of ULFA, Golap
Sonwai.
-
August 12: A 13-member team of woman cadres belonging
to the ULFA and the Ranjan Daimary faction of the NDFB entered the
Guwahati city to trigger subversive activities ahead of the Independence
Day (August 15), latest intelligence inputs gathered by the Assam
Police stated.
-
August 11: Quoting sources in the intelligence agencies,
Shillong Times has reported that the ULFA and NDFB have already
set up temporary hideouts in Bhutan, contrary to the claims made
by Bhutan that Indian militants do not put their bases anymore in
that country. This report from an Indian intelligence agency came
in the backdrop of the claim at the Seventh Border Coordination
Development Meeting held at Thimphu (Bhutan), which dismissed reports
about the ULFA and NDFB militants setting up permanent camps on
its soil. According to official sources in Guwahati, the ULFA and
NDFB militants were reorganising and attempting to sneak into Bhutan.
New Delhi has reportedly informed Thimphu of the intrusion of about
30 militants into its soil. "We have information that they (ULFA
and NDFB) have set up temporary hideouts there in the wake of stepped
up counter-insurgency operations, especially in Lower Assam," an
officer from the Military Intelligence said.
-
August 10: The NDFB, ULFA, KLO of Assam, Manipur
Peoples Liberation Front (MPLF) of Manipur and Tripura Peoples Democratic
Front (TPDF) of Tripura jointly called a General Strike from 1am
(IST) to 6.30pm (IST) on August 15 in the Northeast and called for
to boycott of Independence Day.
-
August 9: Suspected ULFA militants
triggered a low-intensity explosion on a railway track at Harimura,
around six kilometres from the Goalpara railway station in Goalpara
District, damaging five sleepers. However, there were no casualties.
The explosive went off ahead of a Guwahati-bound goods train. Sources
said the driver had heard the blast and slowed the train. Railway
sources said the train moved on after the sleepers were replaced.
Police sources suspect that the Saraighat Express might have been
the target of the blast.
-
August 7: 28 militants of various
outfits surrendered before the Assam Rifles at Lekhapani in Tinsukia
District. The surrendered militants included eight ULFA cadres,
eight AANLA cadres, three NSCN-IM cadres, seven NSCN-K cadres and
three NSCN-U cadres.
Two senior ULFA cadres surrendered
with a cache of arms and ammunition in the Tezpur town of Sonitpur
District. The surrendered cadres were identified as Dhaneswar Borkakoty
alias Bhaiti and Prafulla Saikia alias Bahni Tamuly. Dhaneswar had
joined the outfit in 1990 while the latter had joined in 1989. Dhaneswar
deposited a cache of arms and ammunition comprising one AK 56 rifle,
one AK series magazine, 90 rounds live cartridges of AK series,
750 grams of RDX, 3.8 kilograms of TNT explosives, six PTED switches,
one 1.6 kilogram IED and one detonator, while Prafulla surrendered
one M 20 pistol, two M 20 pistol magazine, 10 rounds live cartridge,
one PTED switch, 800 grams TNT explosives and one detonator.
-
August 5: Police arrested a linkman
of '709 battalion' of the ULFA, identified as Mintu Kalita (22),
son of Krishna Ram Kalita, a resident of Bamundi Kailashpur under
Saulkuchi Police Station of Kamrup District.
One ULFA militant, Golok Deka alias
Jitu Saikia (28), was arrested by the SFs from Morigaon town of
Morigaon District at 11am (IST). Three mobile phones and some incriminating
documents were recovered from his possession.
Army personnel neutralized an ULFA
transit camp from the Namsang reserve forest along the Buri Dehing
River in Dibrugarh District. Two revolvers, two .12 bore guns, a
magazine of AK-47 rifle with 120 rounds, explosives, cordex, detonators,
combat dresses and utensils were recovered from the camp.
-
August 2: The SFs arrested a women
cadre of the ULFA, identified as Rumi Baishya of Hatitari Gaon,
at Musalpur under Baksa Police Station in Baksa District. 23 Aircel
and Reliance SIM cards and various indiscriminating documents were
recovered from her possession. Purnima Baishya and Nirupama Baishya,
the aunt and mother of Rumi respectively, were also arrested for
further investigation.
The SFs arrested two ULFA linkmen, identified as
Himata Sarma alias Deep (19) and his brother Himanshu Sarma alias
Tapan (22), from their residence at Pati Darrang under Mongoldoi
Police Station in Darrang District. One 22-mm locally-made revolver
and two extortion notes of the ULFA were recovered from their residence.
-
July 31: Contractors engaged in setting up a 33
KV Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) sub-station at Sriram Sapori
village in Majuli of Jorhat District, fled after receiving extortion
notes from the ULFA. A source said that the ASEB had commissioned
the setting up of two sub-stations - a 132 KV at Garmur and the
other 33 KV one at Sriram Sapori under the Rajiv Gandhi Vidyutkaran
Yojana scheme of the Government of India. The two sub-stations would
benefit about 7,000 families living in 200 villages in both the
places. However, work at the 33 KV sub-station is incomplete following
a threat to contractors by the ULFA. The source said that the contractors
fled for fear of their lives after receiving extortion notes signed
by M. Deka Phukan and Bijoy Das belonging to the '28th
Battalion' of the ULFA.
-
July 30: Police arrested a ULFA linkman, Dilip Gogoi,
from Mohura Ali area in the Golaghat District. Police sources said
Gogoi, along with one Jayanta Baruah, was distributing extortion
notices to businessmen in Golaghat town in the name of the ULFA.
The whereabouts of Jayant is not known, the report added.
Jitul Rajkhowa, president of the Assam Jatiyatabadi
Yuba Chhatra Parishad of Golaghat District sammittee (committee),
was arrested for demanding INR 400000 in the name of the ULFA. He
had reportedly threatened one Mohammad Nurul Sultan, an official
of the District Rural Development Authority Department.
The ULFA alleged that the killing of senior journalist
Parag Das was a 'pre-planned conspiracy' by the Government which
was evident in the acquittal of the prime accused on July 28. The
ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa said in a statement that the acquittal
of Mridul Phukan, the prime suspect, "was a preplanned conspiracy"
to kill the noted journalist 13 years ago.
-
July 29: The Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi announced
that the Government would take care of the treatment of ULFA 'commander-in-chief'
Paresh Baruah if he surrenders, reports Assam Tribune. Talking
to media persons in Guwahati, Gogoi said the Government does not
have conformed news of the sickness of the ULFA leader. "We have
seen media reports in this regard, but we are not in a position
to confirm or deny the reports." Gogoi also said the BW outfit has
expressed its desire to come forward for talks but the Government
would take a final decision in this regard in consultation with
the Union Government. The Union Home Secretary G. K. Pillai is scheduled
to arrive in Assam on July 30 and the issue will be discussed, he
added.
A ULFA militant, identified as Bastav Bora alias
Rupjyoti Gogoi, was arrested by the SFs from a restaurant near the
Assam Medical College in Dibrugarh District. A hand grenade, three
kilograms of TNT and other explosives materials were recovered from
his possession.
-
July 26: The Army personnel recovered
a cache of explosives from an adjacent location of the Upper Dehing
Reserve Forest under Digboi Police Station in Tinsukia District.
Sources said the explosives were stored by the ULFA to trigger blasts
ahead of the outfit's 'martyrs' day' on July 28 or on the nation's
Independence Day (August 15).
Two ULFA linkmen, Sadhuram Koch
and Jayanta Hasong, were arrested from Majari village in Dhubri
District along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
-
July 25: The SFs arrested one ULFA
militant, identified as Upen Sarma, from Punia village under Mangaldai
Police Station in Darrang District.
-
July 24: A ULFA militant was shot
dead while two others managed to escape during an encounter with
SFs in the Bairagi area under Pathacharkuchi Police Station of Barpeta
District in the morning. One US-made pistol and seven bullets were
recovered from the slain militant's possession.
Quoting an official source in the
Home Department of Assam, Telegraph said an alert was announced
about the plans of a 300-member group of youths to sneak into the
State for carrying out subversive activities after being trained
by Maoist rebels in Jharkhand over the past three years. An official
in the Home Department said these youths, most of them members of
an organisation ostensibly espousing the cause of farmers and also
believed to be a frontal organisation of ULFA, had left Assam during
2006-2007. "Most of these youths are from areas where the organisation
was active till a few months back. Now it is trying to form District-level
committees throughout the state. Most of these youths are from Golaghat
and Nagaon Districts. We have names of some of them who had disappeared
since 2006. Some of these youths may have even been taking shelter
in the Lalgarh area of West Bengal, which was till a few days back
a stronghold of Maoist rebels," the official said. He said there
were reports of the ULFA striking a deal with the Maoists and that
these trained youths had been assigned to carry out subversive activities
in the State. "ULFA has been trying since long to work together
with the Maoist rebels operating in India, who have links with China,"
the official added. Sources said the organisation had strong bases
in the Doyang and Tengani areas of Golaghat District and Kaki in
Nagaon District. "We also have information that arms for these youths
may have already arrived in the state. We are keeping a close watch
on these areas," he added further.
-
July 23: An unidentified ULFA militant
was arrested following an encounter with the Security Forces in
Nagaon District.
-
July 21: The Union Government confirmed
reports that self-styled 'commander-in-chief' of ULFA, Paresh Baruah,
may have moved out of Bangladesh for some time. The Union Minister
of State for Home Affairs, Mullapally Ramachandran, was replying
to a question in Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) on reports
of Baruah moving to China. However, details in this regard are not
available, the Minister added. The Minister also confirmed that
a fresh list of prominent militant leaders and criminals based in
Bangladesh including those against whom Red Corner Notice have been
issued has been handed over to Director General of Bangladesh Rifles
(BDR) during the recent Director General level Border Coordination
Conference at Dhaka from July 11-14.
Police arrested one Achyut Deka
from Ghograpar area of Nalbari District at around 11 pm (IST) in
the night, who was trying to extort money from people in the disguise
of ULFA. Sources said that Deka had served an extortion note of
INR 500000 to Dr Pranabjyoti Deka, a local physician. The doctor
while informing the Police asked Achyut to collect the money. The
Police laid a trap and arrested Achyut while his accomplice Montu
Ali managed to flee. The Police also recovered a motorbike on which
they had come. Achyut hails from Karbaitola village under Nalbari
Police Station.
The ULFA militants shot dead a surrendered
cadre, Hazong Rabha, and his wife Nalani Rabha, at their Nalanga
Pahartoli residence under Baguwan Police Station in Goalpara District.
Assam Police sources said the SULFA cadre, who surrendered and joined
the mainstream in 2005, had been leading a normal life after marrying
Nalani in 2006. He was engaged in coal trade since laying down arms.
Suspected ULFA militants had also killed Hazong Rabha's uncle and
his wife in the night of July 6 at their residence nearly 500 metres
away from their hilltop house. Baguwan Police, however, denied that
the incident had any link with militant groups.
Quoting intelligence sources, Sentinel
has reported that the ULFA planned to use women cadres for subversive
activities during the forthcoming Independence Day celebrations
on August 15. According to sources, a group of women cadres has
entered Jorhat District from the border areas of Golaghat to carry
out subversion. The Police in five upper Assam Districts have already
intensified security measures on receiving this information.
-
July 20: The CBI arrested an ULFA
cadre of the pro-talks faction, Bhaskar Rajbonshi, from the Nalbari
designated camp in connection with abduction and killing case of
Food Corporation of India Executive Director P.C. Ram.
SFs seized a detailed sketch of
Dibrugarh Airport along with a large quantity of explosives from
a ULFA hideout in a dense jungle at Seesabil under Tingkhong Police
Station in the Dibrugarh District. Some other sketches, which appeared
to be of bridges and oil and gas pipelines, were also found at the
hideout. The recoveries include around three kilogram of TNT, one
and half kilogram of RDX, five gelatin sticks, a hand grenade, a
handmade pistol, 55 rounds of AK-series ammunition, three rounds
of .303 rifle ammunition, extortion notes, camouflage uniforms and
medicines. "ULFA could be planning something big ahead of its martyrs'
day on July 28 and Independence Day on August 15," a senior Police
Official said. "We have asked Oil India Limited, Assam Gas Company
Limited and Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation Limited to
be extra cautious after today's haul," he added.
-
July 19: Police arrested Indrajeet
Bania, a top ranking militant of the 27th battalion of
the ULFA, from his rented house in the Gandhibasti area in Guwahati.
Police also recovered an IED from the house. According to Assam
Police, he was planning to trigger a high-intensity blast in Guwahati
in the next few days. Meanwhile, the Police sounded an alert on
July 18 that the ULFA was planning to trigger a blast in Guwahati
with the help of a student.
-
July 14: The BSF personnel arrested
a suspected ULFA linkman, identified as Pradeep Sangma of Sherpur
District of Bangladesh, along the India-Bangladesh border in the
West Garo Hills District in the State of Meghalaya.
-
July 12: The Army troopers and Police arrested a
ULFA militant, identified as S. S. Bhola Gogoi, at Shimalguri under
Bihpuria Police Station in the Lakhimpur District. One German .38
revolver with two live rounds, one Nokia mobile phone and incriminating
documents were recovered from his possession. During interrogation,
Bhola Gogoi confessed that he worked as an active cadre of the 28th
Battalion of the ULFA and is the son of one Uttam Gogoi, a resident
of Saraimoria in the North Lakhimpur District.
-
July 10: Two ULFA militants were
shot dead in an encounter with SFs at Nasatra village in Barpeta
District. The Gaonburah (village headmen) of the village along with
his wife and daughter were arrested for sheltering militants in
his home. One of the slain militants was identified as Pingal Deka.
Meanwhile, Shillong Times reports that the other militant
was identified as Tinku Deka.
-
July 9: A high ranking ‘second lieutenant’
and ‘commander’ of ‘27th Battalion’ of the ULFA , Manik Saikia (38),
a resident of Sootea Sapekhati Gaon under Sootea Police Station
in Sonitpur District, surrendered in front of the Superintendent
of Police of Sonitpur District. He deposited a 9-mm pistol and some
bullets at the time of his surrender. He also confessed that he
had joined the ULFA in 1990.
The Guwahati city Police arrested
a ULFA extortionist, Raju Koch, at Ganeshguri area of Guwahati when
he came to collect extortion money from a business firm. Police
said Koch had served an extortion note on an ULFA letterhead to
the firm demanding INR 500000. Koch belongs to Nazira in the Sivasagar
District.
-
July 8: Shillong Times reports
that the ULFA has regrouped its 28th battalion in a base in Myanmar
close to the border to step up its activities in the eastern Assam's
industrial and tea belt. Security sources said the outfit had appointed
Bijoy Chinese as the 'operation commander' of the revamped ‘28th
battalion’, which had been virtually rendered defunct after its
‘A’ and ‘C’ companies entered into a truce with the Government in
June 2008 and its cadres taken shelter in designated camps. Some
of the senior leaders of the outfit have reportedly taken shelter
in Mon District of Nagaland to carry out specific strikes in eastern
Assam areas before Independence Day.
Central intelligence agencies have
cautioned about a "rejuvenated" ULFA carrying out a massive
fund collection drive from the business establishments located along
Assam’s boundary with Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh. According
to an intelligence report from upper Assam, several businessmen
paying extortion money to the ULFA were doings so in installments.
Sources in the agency said the sum in the demand notes served to
the traders varied between INR 200000 and INR 2000000. A senior
officer of Golaghat Police confirmed that the ULFA had been trying
to extort businessmen in the border areas. Such notices have been
served in the Merapani and Chungajan areas along the Assam-Nagaland
border, he said. "We have not received any official complaint
till now though we have information about a few businessmen receiving
such extortion notes. A few have allegedly paid to the ULFA coffers
also." Most of these businessmen, the officer said, are Hindi-speaking
persons. Meanwhile, a statement issued by ULFA’s ‘finance secretary’,
‘lieutenant colonel’ Chitraban Hazarika, on July 8 said "donation
notes" purportedly signed by him and distributed among the
businessmen, especially in Nagaon district, were fake. "Such
notices are fake as I have not signed any donation note since 2002,"
the statement added.
-
July 7: A ULFA militant, identified
as Jitu Medhi, was shot dead in an encounter with the Police at
Amsoi along the border of Nagaon and Karbi Anglong District.
-
July 6: A self styled
"sergeant" of the ULFA, identified as Deepshikha Baruah
alias Bohagi Baruah (35), a resident of Himpora village under Moranhat
Police Station in Sivasagar District, was arrested by the SFs on
from Rongapathar village under Sonari Police Station. A revolver
and an IED were recovered from Baruah who belongs to the Bravo Company
of ULFA’s 28th battalion. The Sivasagar District Superintendent
of Police, Shyamal Prasad Saikia, said that Baruah confessed that
"the outfit has plans to hit certain specific targets in the
run-up to Independence Day to once again prove its existence."
A senior Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel S. Banerjee, who was leading
the Army troops, was injured in his leg when Baruah fired at him
from a revolver. Two senior leaders of the pro-talks faction of
the ULFA, Prabal Neog and Jiten Dutta, had cautioned on July 1 that
the ULFA planned to strike before Independence Day, saying they
had learnt about it from "their own channels". Neog had
even said the ULFA might try to kill important functionaries of
the pro-peace camps.
One ULFA linkman, Parth
Pratim Saikia, was arrested by Police from Chowkidingee area of
Dibrugarh District.
-
July 1: The pro-talks faction of the ULFA sounded
an alert and beefed up security at its camps in the upper Assam
region following reports through its "own channels" that the outfit
was attempting to carry out strikes in the area, including on its
members. The pro-talks faction also cautioned the State Government
about ULFA's plan to carry out the attacks in August 2009. Prabal
Neog, a leader of the pro-talks faction, told Telegraph, "Many cadres
(of ULFA) have already entered Tinsukia District from the Myanmar
camps via Arunachal Pradesh and have started distributing extortion
notices. We have information about ULFA trying desperately to carry
out strikes. If not on Security Forces, it may be Hindi-speaking
settlements and us. We have tightened security in our camps." Jiten
Dutta, another pro-talks leader, said most of the ULFA militants
who had entered Tinsukia recently were recruited by him just a few
months before they declared a cease-fire in June 2008. "They are
fully trained now and have been sent by the leadership to carry
out strikes," he added.
-
June 28: Army personnel arrested one ULFA militant,
identified as 28-year old Dipen Bailung alias Malikto Bailung, from
Dikhoumukh area in Sivasagar District. During interrogation, he
confessed to being involved in regrouping activities and extortion
in Sivasagar District under the command of ULFA's 'sergeant' Nomal
Gogoi, who has reportedly been operating in the Assam-Nagaland border
region.
-
June 27: Police arrested a ULFA linkman, identified
as Gautom Hajong (38), from Aidoba village under Mankachar Police
Station in the Dhubri District.
-
June 25: Quoting highly placed security sources,
Assam Tribune reported that the ULFA, anti-talks faction
of the NDFB and the BW outfits have joined hands as they were under
pressure from the on going operation against them by Security Forces.
Sources said that at present ULFA cadres led by Hira Sarania are
reportedly moving around in the areas bordering Bhutan in the Chirang
and Baska Districts and they may try to trigger explosions with
the help of the anti-talks faction of the NDFB. Sources also said
the Black Widow group has established ties with the anti-talks faction
of the NDFB. There have also been reports that a few Black Widow
militants have managed to go to Bangladesh along with cadres of
the anti-talks faction of the NDFB.
One ULFA militant was shot dead in an encounter
with the SFs near Sukurbaria Bazaar under Rani Police outpost in
Kamrup District. The Additional Superintendent of Police of Kamrup
District, S. Deka, said the slain militant, who appeared to be in
his early twenties, could not be identified. One pistol, a grenade
and incriminating documents were recovered from his possession.
-
June 24: An ULFA militant, identified as Jibesh
Chakraborty alias Kaku, was arrested in a joint operation
launched by the Boitamari Police and CRPF from Salbari village under
Boitamari Police out post in Bongaigaon District. Police sources
said Jibesh entered Bongaigaon after completing 12-day training
in Kuklung forest.
SFs recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition
from Namdang reserve forest under Khowang Police Station in Dibrugarh
District. Around 3000 rounds of various types of ammunition, five
hand grenades, one AK 56 rifle with three magazines, one revolver
and 30 detonators were recovered. All the arms and ammunition were
sealed in two large bags. Colonel D K Singh of the Indian Army said
that intelligence inputs and interrogation of surrendered and arrested
cadres had indicated that the reserve forests in Dibrugarh District
were being used by the ULFA and other terrorist groups for transit
and for hiding caches of arms and ammunition.
-
June 23: One ULFA militant was shot dead in an encounter
with a joint team of the Police and CRPF at Sagarkuchi village in
Khatikuchi area under Ghograpar Police Station in Nalbari District.
According to sources, the SFs arrested two militants while travelling
on a numberless bike. In the encounter, one militant was injured
while the other managed to escape. The wounded militant later succumbed
to his injuries.
The pro-talks faction of the ULFA celebrated the
anniversary of a unilateral cease-fire and initiation of peace process,
reports Sentinel. The 'Alpha and Charlie' companies of the '28th
battalion' of ULFA had declared a unilateral truce on June 24, 2008.
The pro-talks ULFA cadres living in the designated camps at Kakopathar,
Tinsukia, Moran and Nalbari have been demanding full autonomy. However,
Mrinal Hazarika and Jiten Dutta, leaders of these two companies,
have expressed apprehension that with little development in the
peace process, there was a high possibility of new recruits joining
the ULFA.
-
June 22: Personnel of the 65th Field Regiment of
Red Horns Division arrested one Binoy Borah, a cadre of the 27th
Battalion of ULFA, from Adhikarigaon village under Mangaldai Police
Station in Darrang District. One 7.65 mm magazine, five live rounds
and one mobile phone was recovered from his possession.
The ULFA called a 12-hour Assam bandh (general
shutdown) from 5 am (IST) of June 25 for the alleged killing of
cadres of ULFA, NDFB and BW outfit in custody of the SFs. In a press
release issued on June 22, the ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa alleged
that recently two members of the 28th battalion of the ULFA - Debojit
Chetia and Durlav Bora - were killed in Nagaon in a "fake encounter".
He said that both the ULFA members were arrested on June 10 near
Karbi Anglong and were later shot dead. The ULFA chairman also alleged
that in June 2009 17 NDFB cadres were killed and most of them were
killed while they were in the custody of the SFs. He further alleged
that BW cadre Frankie Dimasa was also killed after he was picked
up by the troops. Rajkhowa said that instead of trying to find political
solution to the problems, the Government has been trying to deal
with the situation with force.
-
June 21: Two ULFA militants were shot dead during
a joint operation by the Army and Police near the Dijuvalley tea
estate in Nagaon District. One of the slain militants was identified
as Subhankar Bora alias Debojit Saikia, a cadre of the '28th
battalion' of the ULFA, while the other is yet to be identified.
One AK 56 rifle, one 9-mm revolver and ammunition and fired cases
were recovered from the possession of the slain militants.
-
June 19: An unidentified ULFA militant was shot
dead in an encounter with Police and CRPF personnel at Kacharitol
village under Kalaigaon Police Station in Udalguri District. One
Chinese pistol along with several rounds of live ammunition were
recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
-
June 18: An unidentified ULFA militant was shot
dead by a joint team of the Army and Police at Dababil under Sidli
Police Station in Chirang District.
The United Pro-talks Organization (UPO), comprising
the ULFA, DHD, ACF and the BCF, demanded regional autonomy in the
Northeast so that lasting solutions to the problems of the region
could be solved.
-
June 17: Telegraph quoting eyewitnesses sources
reports that three suspected ULFA militants who came on two bicycles
shot dead a surrendered SULFA cadre, Khiren Chandra Nath (36), inside
a saloon at Salkosa in Dhubri District. Another surrendered ULFA
cadre, Bishnu Barman, and a barber, Dulal Sil Sarma, were injured.
The people of the area later obstructed the National Highway and
gheraoed the Police Station in protest against the killing.
-
June 15: The Police and Army personnel shot dead
an ULFA militant, identified as Biman Gogoi, and arrested a linkman,
Hemchandra Gogoi, from Telikhola Majgaon area of Sadiya in Tinsukia
District. Later, the Army recovered two AK-56 rifles, three magazines
of AK series, one magazine of M-20 pistol and 128 live ammunitions
of AK series from Udaypur area under Chapakhowa Police Station,
based on the confession of the arrested linkman.
-
June 14: Two suspected militants
of the ULFA managed to escape after local residents pelted stones
at them when they tried to threaten a businessman at gunpoint on
the Chamber Road under Fancy Bazaar Police Station of Guwahati city.
Police, however, managed to recover a .38 and a 9-mm pistol which
the militants left behind after being chased by the public.
-
June 11: Two ULFA militants, identified
as Megha Hajong and Arun Rabha, were killed by a joint team of the
Meghalaya Police and Army at Bangalpara village in West Garo Hills
District. An AK-47 rifle, two Chinese grenades, three AK-rifle magazines
with ammunition and some explosives were recovered from their possession.
Hajong was the ‘area commander’ of the ULFA for the entire Garo
Hills. Police said Hajong was involved in smuggling of arms and
ammunition from Bangladesh through the Garo Hills border to Assam.
-
June 10: Telegraph reports
that the ULFA has started a new strategy of recruiting the youth
of tea tribe community in upper Assam. The outfit’s new strategy
came to light following the arrest of an ULFA linkman, Devdas Tanti,
from Thowra tea estate in Sivasagar District. Tanti, a tea garden
labourer, confessed that he had been asked by the ULFA to lure tea
garden youths to join the outfit
-
June 8: The personnel of 11th Maratha
Regiment arrested one Prasenjit Barman (19) of Goladangi and his
accomplice Manik Barman (21) for their reported links with the ULFA.
-
June 5: A huge cache of arms belonging to the ULFA
was recovered by Security Forces from Tinsukia District.
-
June 3: Three militants, including a senior ULFA
militant identified as Madhurjya Gogoi, were killed in an encounter
with the Army at Chayabhata village in Karbi Anglong District around
1.30pm (IST). Gogoi was a self-styled 'lieutenant' of the banned
outfit. Of the other two militants, one was Gogoi's bodyguard while
another was a KLNLF cadre. An AK-series rifle, two 9mm pistols,
a Chinese grenade, ammunition and cash-receipt book were recovered
from the encounter site.
A ULFA militant, Karuna Mili alias Madhab
Mili, was arrested from Matmara area under Dhakuakhana Police Station
in Lakhimpur District. A 9-mm factory made pistol, one magazine
and three rounds of live ammunition were recovered from his possession.
-
June 2: A cadre belonging to the '709 battalion'
of the ULFA, identified as Nripen Das, was arrested by the Police
from Hajo in Kamrup District.
-
June 1: Police arrested one Ranjit Dutta alias
Jan of Sasoni Tokobill area on the charge of extortion from Tipling
under Duliajan Police Station in Dibrugarh District. Police sources
said Dutta was arrested when he went to collect the extortion money.
A few note pads of the ULFA and some incriminating documents were
recovered from his possession.
-
May 31: The ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah,
who has been hiding in Bangladesh for many years now, is reported
to be in China for about a month now, intelligence agencies have
indicated. Government sources told that Indian intelligence agencies
have been able to intercept Baruah's mobile phone and satellite
phone conversations from China and are also aware of his precise
location in that country. Though there is no clarity on the reason
for his visit, sources said Baruah might have travelled to China
in the hope of procuring some arms. His China visit comes at a time
when the Awami League Government under Sheikh Hasina has initiated
a crackdown on the ULFA and other Indian insurgent groups who have
taken shelter in that country.
-
May 30: Police arrested two ULFA militants, identified
as Pramod Kalita and Satish Rajbongshi, and one PLA cadre, Birchandra
Singh, from the Baihata Chariali area of Kamrup District. 50 kilograms
of RDX, five kilograms of ammonium nitrate and some detonators were
recovered from their possession. Police claimed that on the eve
of ULFA's protest day, the militants were on an extortion drive
in Kamrup, including Guwahati city. They arrived at Baihata Chariali
to meet one bomb-expert, the report added.
-
May 29: Police arrested three unidentified ULFA
militants at Baihata Chariali area of Rangiya in Kamrup District.
Five kilograms of RDX (Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine) were recovered
from their possession.
-
May 28: Two army personnel and two suspected ULFA
militants were injured in an encounter at Naamtemera Noigaon under
Dergaon Police Station in Golaghat District.
Sentinel has reported that the '28th Battalion'
of the ULFA served extortion notices to several businessmen in upper
Assam and set a target of collecting INR 10 million from the region.
Sources said that taking advantage of the agreement between the
Government and the pro-talks faction of the ULFA, a group of militants
were serving extortion notes in the name of the ULFA's '709 Battalion'
to a number of businessmen in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia Districts.
According to sources in the ULFA, a meeting was convened at the
headquarters of the '28th Battalion' in Myanmar three days back
to discuss the financial crisis and ways to cope with it. The meeting
unanimously resolved to collect INR 10 million from upper Assam
and instructed its cadres to serve the extortion notes.
-
May 25: Two persons, including one surrendered United
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) cadre Bipul Saraniya (25), were
shot dead by an unidentified militant at Saukuchi under Barama Police
Station in Baksa. Police sources said when the SULFA man was taking
a meal along with Amar Das (15) at their relative's home, an unidentified
militant shot at them with a 9-mm pistol from zero distance.
-
May 19: The Guwahati Police arrested
two youths, identified as Dhanjit Kalita and K. Sinha, from the
Chandmari Police Station area for allegedly planning to serve extortion
notes in the name of the banned ULFA.
-
May 15: The troops arrested one
self-styled 'Sergeant Major' of the ULFA, Achyut Sarma alias Deepak
Deka alias Noor, from Hazarikapara village under Sipajhar Police
Station in Darrang District.
-
May 14: Dispur city Police arrested two private
security guards of a residential apartment in Chandmari area of
Guwahati city for extorting money for ULFA. Police said the accused
were identified as Amitabh Boro (27) from Sipajhar in Darrang District
and Dibakar Rajbongshi (32) from Rangia in Kamrup District. The
Police said the accused had made extortion calls to some persons
in the name of Hira Sarania, the 'commander'' of the '709 battalion'
of ULFA.
-
May 12: Dibrugarh District Police arrested a suspected
ULFA linkman, Pankaj Baruah, from Mirihola village under Moran Police
Station on charges of extortion. According to Police sources, Bapu
Jewelers had received an extortion demand of INR 500000, reportedly
from Dennis Sonowal, a member of the 'Bravo Company' of ULFA. The
matter was reported to the Police and a trap was laid and Pankaj
Barua who had arrived at the spot to collect the demanded amount
was caught.
Police shot dead an unidentified ULFA militant in
an encounter at Solmari under Baihata Chariali Police Station in
the Kamrup District. While Police recovered one 9-mm pistol from
the possession of the slain militant, two other militants managed
to escape. Police sources said a group of three ULFA militants were
taking shelter in the area with a view to collect funds for their
outfit.
-
May 10: Police arrested an advocate,
Gobinda Nath, from his residence at Gopal Bazaar in Nalbari town,
based on the confession of a ULFA cadre, Manoj Sharma. Sharma, who
is a cadre of the '709 battalion' of the ULFA, was arrested earlier.
Police sources said Sharma, who hails from Baihata in Kamrup District,
had gone to Nalbari to collect cash from the advocate.
-
May 8: Police arrested one ULFA militant, identified
as Arup Deka (20), from Ganeshpara area of Guwahati in Kamrup District.
The Police said Deka, who hails from Musalpur in Baksa District,
is a cadre belonging to '709 battalion' of the ULFA, and suspected
to be involved in several subversive activities including the blast
at Jyotikuchi.
Two ULFA militants, who were shot dead in an encounter
at Beganabari in Sivasagar District, were identified as Jitu Changmai
and Linton Ingti. Jitu hails from Sivasagar District while Linton
is from Tinsukia District.
-
May 7: Two unidentified ULFA militants were shot
dead by Police during an encounter at Beganabari in Sivasagar District.
Police recovered a universal machine gun, one AK-56 rifle and several
rounds of live ammunition from the encounter site.
-
May 3: An unidentified ULFA militant
was killed while another was wounded in an encounter with a joint
team of the Police, Central Reserve Police Force and Army at Biyakorowa
village under Merapani Police station in the Golaghat District.
-
April 29: A camp of the ULFA was
neutralised and a cache of arms and ammunition recovered by the
Army at Salna in Nagaon District.
-
April 28: Two ULFA militants were
shot dead in an encounter with the SF personnel at Sripurdeor Haribangha
under Mushalpur Police station in Baksa District.
-
April 27: Suspected ULFA militants
shot dead a pro-talks cadre, Hitesh Rabha (28), at Khaldang village
under Krishnai Police station in Goalpara District. Police sources
said a group of four ULFA cadres shot Rabha from close range when
he came out of his house after dinner. Rabha was with ULFA's 709th
battalion before he came over ground. This is the second major attack
by suspected ULFA militants on the pro-talks group within a month.
Earlier, on March 25, they had killed Robin Gogoi, who was instrumental
in roping in leaders of the A and C companies of ULFA's 28th battalion
for talks. Pro-talks leader Maradona Russell alias Naren Rai, who
is in charge of the group's Nalbari designated camp, held ULFA "commander-in-chief"
Paresh Barua and "chairman" Arabinda Rajkhowa" responsible for the
killing. He warned that his group would not remain a silent spectator
to the killing of its members.
SFs arrested two ULFA militants from Dekargaon area
under Serfunguri Police station in Kokrajhar District.
-
April 24: The ULFA has started extorting money from
traders in Arunachal Pradesh. Arunachal Pradesh Police said that
two cadres of ULFA's 28 battalion, Ghanakanta Saikia and Deepak
Bhuyan, were arrested from Bihpuria in Assam's Lakhimpur District
on, for serving an extortion notice for INR one million to a trader
at Banderdewa in Arunachal Pradesh last week and intimidating him.
They were remanded to Police custody for 14 days by a local magistrate
on April 25.
-
April 22: A joint team of the Police and the Army
arrested Subil Borgohain, a 'sergeant major' belonging to the 'B'
Company of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), from Mahmora
Ali near Namrup Police station in Dibrugarh District. One AK-56
rifle, 44 rounds of live ammunition and some incriminating documents
were recovered from his possession.
-
April 21: Police arrested three ULFA linkmen for
their alleged involvement in the bomb blast at Jyotikuchi in the
Maligaon area of Guwahati city in Kamrup District. Police sources
said the trio, identified as Kandarpa Das, Sanjay Thakuria and Gautam
Thakuria were arrested from Musalpur in the Baksa District.
-
April 18: In a joint operation,
Assam Rifles troopers along with the Udalguri and Orang Police arrested
four ULFA linkmen from two different areas of Udalguri District.
Phuleswar Nath and Dulal Nath were arrested from Goraimari village
while Pranab Nath and Satyajeet Nath were arrested from Bagalibari
village under Majbat Police Station.
-
April 11: Police recovered two IEDs,
one concealed inside a football weighing around 10 kilograms and
the other inside a steel container weighing around three kilograms,
from the house of one Babul Das under Basistha Police Station of
Guwahati. Police sources said Babul Das had been arrested once earlier
for suspected links with the banned ULFA.
-
April 10: The Mankachar Police arrested
five more persons in connection with the grenade blast at Mankachar
Police Station on April 6. Four of the arrested persons who were
suspected to have maintained links with the ULFA were identified
as Kamini Koch, Mithun Koch, Kamal Koch and Mokmol Koch. All of
them hail from Gopalpur village under Mankachar Police Station in
Dhubri District.
-
April 9: Two women cadres of ULFA,
identified as Debalata Handique and Jonali Deka, were arrested from
an unspecified area of Guwahati in the Kamrup District and remanded
to three days Police custody for their role the March 25 grenade
attack in front of the civil hospital in Tezpur.
Another ULFA militant, identified
as Jadav Bora, was arrested by the Security Force personnel from
Amlaki Pait Gaon under Jonai Police Station in the Dhemaji District.
-
April 8: SFs shot dead one unidentified
ULFA militant at Bhuyakhati near Dalgaon in the Darrang District.
Some arms and ammunition were recovered from the possession of the
slain militant.
Police arrested two persons, identified
as Pulin Bora and Lakhiprasad Nath, from Dhekiajuli in the Sonitpur
District in connection with the April 6 bomb blast. Police sources
said both are surrendered ULFA cadres.
-
April 7: Police and Army in a joint
operation arrested one ULFA militant, identified as Parimal Barman,
and six of its linkmen from Paglaghat under Tamarhat Police Station
area of Dhubri District in connection with the April 6 grenade attack
on a Police Station at Mankachar in the same District.
-
April 6: Ten persons were killed
and about 59 others injured in four explosions carried out by suspected
ULFA militants. The militants carried out three blasts and mounted
a grenade attack within five hours. The Director General of Police,
G.M. Srivastava, said seven people were killed and 56 injured in
a powerful blast in a crowded market in Guwahati’s Maligaon area
at around 2 pm (IST). The explosion sparked a fire that set ablaze
two cars and 20 motorcycles and spread to a three-storey building
housing the area police station. While six people were killed at
the blast site, one died of injuries after jumping from an adjacent
building which had caught fire. The bomb is suspected to have been
hidden in a car or a motorcycle parked adjacent to the North-East
Frontier Railway headquarters. "This is the handiwork of ULFA
boys ahead of the outfit’s Raising Day" Srivastava said, adding
the militants used hi-tech explosives. A bomb was set off by unidentified
militants in the Santipur area near Bokajan in Karbi Anglong District
earlier in the day. Suspected ULFA militants also set off a bicycle
bomb explosion at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District later. Four people
were injured, one of them seriously, in this incident. According
to an unconfirmed report, he later died of his injuries. In addition,
an unidentified militant lobbed a hand grenade at Mankachar Police
station in Dhubri district, killing a Police driver and injuring
another.
-
April 5: Assam Tribune reports
that Police released photos of two ULFA militants who had entered
Guwahati city to carry out subversive activities ahead of the outfit’s
raising day on April 7. The two militants were identified as Manohar
Rajbangshi alias Son and Pradip Kalita alias Deep.
Manohar hails from Musalpur in Baksa District, while Pradip is from
Nagaon District, the Additional Superintendent of Guwahati City
Police, Devajit Deuri, said. They belong to the ‘709th and 27th
battalion’ of ULFA respectively.
-
April 3: Police arrested two ULFA
militants, identified as Rakesh Thakuria (22) and Kamal Nayan Talukdar
alias Baba (27), from Basistha and Noonmati areas of Guwahati
city respectively. They were involved in the March 31 bomb blast
at Jyotikuchi area in Guwahati city. The Additional Superintendent
of Police (City), Debojit Deori, said the duo was also wanted in
connection with several other cases. "They were arrested based on
the account of the eyewitnesses of the Jyotikuchi blast," he said.
-
March 31: 53 militants, including
44 from the ULFA, surrendered before the Army at Dinjan Army station
in the Tinsukia District. Besides the 44 ULFA militants, including
four women cadres, there were three NSCN militants and six members
of the AANLA. The militants deposited a huge cache of arms and ammunition,
including 44 pistols, five guns, one machine gun and huge quantities
of assorted ammunition.
One person died while at least nine
others sustained injuries when an IED exploded in the Jyotikuchi
area under Gorchuk Police Station of Guwahati city in the Kamrup
District. The blast occurred two kilometers away from Lalmati area,
where the Union External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukerjee was supposed
to address a public gathering as a part of ruling Congress party’s
election campaign. Senior Superintendent of Police P. C. Saloi said,
"From the prima facie evidence, it appears to be the handiwork
of the banned ULFA".
-
March 30: Quoting Assam Police sources,
Assam Tribune has reported that a group of Islamist militants
had entered upper Assam with the help of local militants to disrupt
the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held in April 2009.
The Superintendent of Police of Dibrugarh, Abhijeet Bora, said Islamist
militants have entered upper Assam through Myanmar and neighbouring
Nagaland’s Mon District. ‘Bravo’ company of the United Liberation
Front of Asom (ULFA) had possibly helped these militants enter the
area as the ‘Alpha’ and ‘Charlie’ units of the outfit were on a
cease-fire with the Government, he added.
-
March 29: SFs arrested one ULFA
militant, identified as Sankar Rajbongshi (30), from Anandapur village
in the Baksa District.
The Morigaon Police arrested two
woman ULFA militants, identified as Jonali Deka and Devalata Handique,
from Jorabat area near Guwahati of Kamrup District.
-
March 25: The pro-talks ULFA leader,
Robin Gogoi, and Luit Boishya, a cloth merchant, were shot dead
by suspected ULFA militants at Kristhi Sangh playground in the Tinsukia
District. According to the Police, Boishya, who is from Nalbari,
died on the spot while Gogoi succumbed to injuries on the way to
a hospital in Tinsukhia.
One ULFA linkman, identified as
Ria Marak, was arrested by the troops from Bishandagiri area under
Garobada Police Station in the West Garo Hills District.
-
March 18: One Police constable,
Nirmal Deka (38), and a ULFA militant were killed in an exchange
of fire between the two sides at Kalitapara under the Sipajhar Police
Station in the Darrang District. Police recovered one 9-mm pistol,
two grenades, four mobile phones, four batteries, 13 rounds of live
ammunition and three books from the possession of the slain militant.
Telegraph had earlier reported that the Constable was injured in
the incident.
-
March 17: A Police constable, Nirmal
Deka, was injured while an ULFA militant, Ganesh Sarma, was killed
in an encounter at Kurua village under Sipajhar Police Station in
the Darrang District.
Unidentified militants shot dead
a surrendered ULFA cadre, Nayanjyoti Roy, at the main market area
of Kokrajhar District.
-
March 15: Police arrested three
militants of the '27th Battalion' of the ULFA from Baihata Chariali
Police Station area in the Kamrup District. They were identified
as Badal Saikia, Ganesh Goswami and Pradeep Kalita.
-
March 13: The Police arrested one ULFA militant,
identified as Utpal Barman, from Noonmati area of Guwahati in the
Kamrup District.
-
March 12: Army personnel arrested one ULFA militant,
identified as Bisaru Teli (40), at Mahmora Arabari under Mahmora
Police Station in the Dibrugarh District. 11 rounds of .303 live
ammunition were recovered from the house of the arrested militant.
-
March 10: Militant outfits like the ULFA and KLO
were reportedly on an extortion drive in different villages of Dhubri
District. These outfits were demanding INR 50, 000 to INR 500, 000
from middle class business men and servicemen residing in various
villages under Golokganj Police Station in Dhubri District bordering
Bangladesh and West Bengal. According to sources, using the KLO
letterhead and signing with its self styled 'commander' as S. Barman,
a huge number of demand notes was served to many businessmen and
servicemen residing in the village of Kanur Bish Khowa, Ratiadaha,
Lakhimari and Rakhapat under Golokganj Police Station. In addition,
one Raju Borua, mentioning himself as 'deputy chief' of the ULFA
and using a cell phone bearing Bangladeshi No.- 008801190856310,
demanded money from some businessmen residing at villages in the
Dhubri District along the Assam-West Bengal border. The report adds
that one Ankur Bora, identifying himself as a ULFA leader, has also
demanded money from some businessmen communicating through a cell
phone.
-
March 9: One ULFA militant, identified
as Tarun Thengal, surrendered before the Police in the headquarters
of Jorhat District.
-
March 8: A joint team of Army and
Police shot dead one ULFA militant, identified as ‘sergeant major’
Lolit Bora alias Ajit Gogoi alias Ajala Kokai, near Balijan Grant
area in the Sivasagar District. A US-made revolver with three bullets,
a grenade, a mobile handset, and a notepad were recovered from the
possession of the slain militant.
-
March 6: A ULFA cadre, identified
as Hiramal Sarkar alias Anupam Gogoi, was shot dead by troops during
an encounter at Launriguri under Bijni Police Station in the Chirang
District.
-
March 2: Assam Police arrested one
ULFA militant, identified as Navajit Das alias Himanshu Roy, from
Garchuk area of Guwahati City. A member of the outfit’s central
committee, he has been with the ULFA since 1995.
Police arrested a woman ULFA cadre,
identified as Lamayanti Roy alias Ajanta Rabha of Chipansila area
in the Bongaigaon District.
-
February 28: 45 militants, including
32 ULFA cadres, six KLNLF cadres, five NDFB cadres and a cadre each
of the MULTA and PLF-M, surrendered along with a huge quantity of
arms and ammunition before Red Horns Division of Indian Army in
a surrender ceremony organized at Rangiya of Kamrup District.
-
February 26: In a joint operation,
the Assam Police and CRPF personnel shot dead two top militants
belonging to the ‘Bravo company’ of the ULFA’s ‘28th Battalion’
at Balijan village under Jengraimukh Police Station in Jorhat District.
The duo were identified as ‘operation commander’ Bhaskar Hazarika
and ‘sergeant major’ Sarat Bora. Nine bags of incriminating documents
relating to the ‘28th Battalion’, an AK-47 rifle, 20 detonators
and fuse wires, two pistols and several grenades were recovered
from the incident site. In addition, $10,000 and INR 100000 in cash
was recovered from a bag.
-
February 23: A self styled ‘corporal’
of ‘28th Battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Manab Handique alias
Dambaru Bora, was arrested by Police personnel at Padumoni area
of Golaghat District.
-
February 22: A jute trader of Bogribari
area, identified as Kartick Sen, was abducted by a combined group
of suspected ULFA and KLO militants from his residence at Bogribari
Bazaar area in the Dhubri District. According to Police sources,
five motorcycle-borne militants called Kartik Sen out of his house
and took him away after opening fire in the air. Four years back,
Sen’s eldest brother Ganesh Sen had been shot dead by the ULFA.
-
February 21: Troops arrested two
ULFA cadres and four linkmen during a search operation at Ronbalgiri
area in the East Garo Hills District. A wireless set, 40 rounds
of 9-mm ammunition and medicines were recovered from their possession.
-
February 20: The pro-talks faction
of the ULFA raised a demand for "full autonomy" to Assam
within the framework of Indian Constitution after detaching itself
from the ULFA’s "demand for restoration of Assam’s sovereignty".
The ‘president’ of the pro-talks faction, Mrinal Hazarika, and two
other senior leaders, Prabal Neog and Jiten Dutta, informed that
the faction had submitted an 18-point charter of demands to the
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on February 19 for solution of
the insurgency problem in Assam through negotiation. He further
added that Gogoi had "assured them to send the memorandum to
the Prime Minister for consideration by the Central Government.
Those political parties who are going to highlight these demands
in the coming Lok Sabha (Lower House of the Parliament) polls will
receive morale support from us."
-
February 19: One suspected ULFA
militant, identified as Indrajeet Roy, was arrested by the Army
personnel from Koimari village under Golokganj Police Station in
Dhubri District.
-
February 17: One Surrendered ULFA
cadre, identified as Rajesh Das, was shot dead by suspected ULFA
militants in Guromari Pathar area of Barpeta District.
-
February 8: Telegraph
reports that the Unified Command Structures of Assam and Arunachal
Pradesh have launched a joint operation to neutralize transit camps
set up by the militants in Changlang and Tirap Districts to prevent
them from reaching Myanmar. The counter-insurgency operations would
target militants of the ULFA and NSCN, besides militants operating
from West Bengal and Sikkim, who take shelter and receive training
in the Districts of Arunachal Pradesh with support from larger outfits.
Apart from Changlang and Tirap, camps in Tamulpur, Darrang, Kajalgaon
and Udalguri areas of Assam bordering Bhutan would also be targeted.
"This (the camps) is where we want to stop them. Our main focus
area will, therefore, be Changlang and Tirap, as these are their
getaways. The mega crackdown should be over before the parliamentary
elections," an unnamed senior official said. "The objective
is to stop the militants from moving out of Bangladesh and from
reaching Myanmar. The Sheikh Hasina regime has made her stand very
clear vis-à-vis militant groups from India operating from
Bangladeshi soil. Things will only get tough for the rebels in Bangladesh,"
he added.
-
February 6: One ULFA
militant, identified as Trailokya Deka, was shot dead by the SFs
during an encounter at Nasatra under Sarthebari Police Station in
the Barpeta District.
Two suspected ULFA
linkmen, Shyamanta Senchowa and Hitesh Gogoi, were arrested by a
joint team of the Army and Police from Tingkhong in the Dibrugarh
District, for extorting money from the traders using letterheads
of the ULFA.
-
February 5: An unidentified
ULFA militant was shot dead by the SFs at Polokhata under Barama
Police Station in the Baksa District. A pistol and a hand grenade
were recovered from his possession.
An encounter took place
between the Police and a group of ULFA militants at Solmara village
in the Nalbari District. The militants opened fire on the Police
who retaliated their firing. Two militants were arrested from the
encounter site and one pistol was recovered from their possession.
The Basistha Police
arrested a ULFA cadre, identified as Jintu Borah, from the Bhangagarh
area of Guwahati city.
-
February 3: A five-member
delegation of the pro-talks ULFA militants belonging to the ‘28th
Battalion’ led by Mrinal Hazarika arrived in New Delhi to hold discussions
with the Union Government. According to sources, the delegation
is expected to meet a cross-section of political leaders and opinion
makers to elucidate their views on a negotiated settlement of the
militancy problem.
-
January 29: Two Police
personnel and one ULFA militant were killed in an encounter in the
Sivasagar District. According to Police sources, the encounter took
place at Bengenabari area under Sonari Police station when a joint
patrol party of the Police and Army was attacked by the ULFA militants.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Bhim Prasad Upadhaya and Constable Debojit
Borgohain were killed on the spot, while the slain ULFA militant
is yet to be identified.
-
January 28: The SFs
in Jorhat and Lakhimpur districts have called for commando back-up
as they got ready for an operation against a group of 40 ULFA militants,
holed up in one of the chaporis (sandbars) of Majuli Island.
The group is led by Rajib Das, the Majuli unit commander of the
outfit.
-
January 27: The pro-talks
group of the ULFA, under the leadership of Jiten Dutta, accused
the Indian Army of trying to derail the peace process by luring
its cadres away from the designated camps to surrender. "We
have definite information that some cadres, including those who
had fled with weapons from our designated camps, are with the army
and are likely to surrender in the days to come," said Jiten
Dutta. However, rejecting the allegations, the General-Officer-Commanding
(GOC) of the Dinjan-based Second Mountain Division, Major General
Jatinder Singh, said: "These are all loose talk and the army
never gets entangled in such issues."
-
January 25: A suspected ULFA cadre
was arrested by the Police from Chabua in Dibrugarh.
SF shot dead an unidentified
militant of ‘709 battalion’ of ULFA at Dimakuchi in the Udalguri
District. One 9mm pistol and an IED were recovered from his possession.
Eight NDFB militants and two ULFA cadres
surrendered before the Superintendent of Police of Golaghat District.
The ULFA militants were identified as 'sergeant major' Pritam Doley
alias Mickel Singh and cadre Polash Jyoti Baruah. The eight NDFB
militants were identified as Ajoy Khaklari, Sanjoy Boro, Pabitra
Basumatary, Nayan Basumatary, Parimal Khaklari, Arabinda Daimary,
Sanjeev Khaklari and Binanda Khaklari. They laid down one .22riffle,
one 9-mm pistol and one .32 pistol along with six cartridges with
magazines.
Three cadres of the 'Alpha' and 'Charlie'
companies of ULFA's '28 battalion' who had managed to escape from
their designated camps in the night of January 23, said oppression
and ill-treatment by their leaders, specifically Jiten Dutta, forced
them to desert the pro-talks group. The cadres said they had been
expelled because they had opposed Dutta's "autocratic" ways.
-
January 23: One ULFA cadre, identified
as Arup Nayak alias Nelo, was arrested by the SF personnel
from Borpatra area under Borhat Police Station in the Sivsagar District.
SFs arrested an ULFA cadre, Hareswar
Das, from Diajiri in the Kokrajhar District. Two hand grenades were
recovered from his possession. Based on his confession, Police arrested
two more persons, Mohammad Sabjal Ali and Mohammad Kazia Akhan,
from Kauniabhasa in the same district. A handmade pistol and six
rounds of ammunition were recovered from them.
Three ULFA cadres, Himalay Bora alias
Arun Baruah, Bolin Moran alias Rinku and Tapan Gogoi alias
Kanak alias Kalpa, managed to escape from their designated
camps.While Arun escaped from the Moran-based camp, Rinku and Kalpa
managed to escape from the Kakopathar camp.
-
January 21: The SFs
arrested one 'corporal' of the ULFA, identified as Dipen Buragohain
alias Bubu Gogoi, from Raghuguri village in the Sivasagar District.
One ULFA cadre, identified
as Uday Bharali, escaped from the Sadiya designated camp of Tinsukia
District with an AK-56 rifle. The SFs, in the past month, have reportedly
voiced concern on the disappearance of some cadres of ULFA's 'Alpha
and Charlie' companies from the designated camps.
-
January 19: Police
in Dibrugarh District recovered three Universal Machine Guns, one
AK 47 rifle, 10 magazines, and 200 rounds of live ammunition buried
underground amid bamboo groves in the Mahmora village under Namrup
Police station. The District Superintendent of Police said, "Police
intelligence has information about more weapons being concealed
at unknown places and so search operations will continue." He refused
to elaborate whether the recovered items belonged to the ULFA.
A ULFA linkman, Girish
Saikia, was arrested from Sonari in Sivasagar District. He was reportedly
working for the outfit's 28th battalion.
-
January 18: Four ULFA
cadres were killed in two separate operations by the Police and
the Army at Khoya village in the Kamrup (Rural) District. In the
first incident, two militants belonging to the group's 709 battalion
were moving to Guwahati from Nalbari when the encounter took place.
Two pistols, two Austrian grenades, three detonators, two IEDs and
500 grams of ammonium nitrate were seized from the slain militants.
Two militants, also belonging
to the 709 battalion, were killed by Army personnel at Samukha village
under Kamalpur Police station in the Baska District. The SFs seized
two 9 mm US-made pistol, two electronic detonators and several extortion
notes from the slain militants.
An ULFA militant was
arrested by SFs from his residence at Panitema village in the Baska
district.
-
January 17: A huge
quantity of arms and ammunition, including 27 AK series and Chinese
rifles, belonging to the ULFA was recovered by the Police in the
Tinsukia district. On a tip-off, Police from Dibrugarh District
along with their counterpart from neighbouring Tinsukia District
launched a joint operation at the Boholram village in the Kukurmara
Sadiya area of Tinsukia District, Dibrugarh Superintendent of Police
Anurag Agarwala told journalists in Dibrugarh.
-
January 14: Police
arrested a militant of the ULFA, Jayanta Kalita, from Lalmati in
the Basistha area of Guwahati city. He had joined the outfit around
four years ago. The Police also detained Bhabani Deka, owner of
Kalita's rented house at Lalmati.
-
January 13: A ULFA
militant, identified as Tapan Das, was killed during an encounter
with Security Forces at Geetanagar locality of Guwahati city. The
slain militant was involved in the abduction and subsequent killing
of FCI executive P.C. Ram in July 2007. Police said Das, belonging
to the outfit's 709th battalion, was trained in sophisticated arms
and bomb-making techniques and was involved in several bomb and
grenade explosions in the city in the past few years.
46 militants, including
42 cadres of the NDFB and four belonging to the ULFA, surrendered
at Bathoupuri in the Baksa District. Of the 42 NDFB militants who
laid down arms before police at Mushalpur in Baksa, 20 are from the
outfit's Borbori designated camp, including a number of "corporals"
and "lance corporals", mostly from NDFB's 4th battalion. The group
laid down two AK-56 series rifles with two magazines and 300 rounds
of ammunition, two 9mm pistols with two magazines and 17 rounds of
ammunition, two Chinese pistols, two revolvers, 10 Chinese grenades,
50 kilograms of TNT and one pen pistol with six rounds of ammunition.
The surrendered ULFA militants included a woman cadre from the outfit's
Enigma group, identified as Namita Kalita.
-
January 12: The Assam Government
stated in the Legislative Assembly that eight militant groups, including
the ULFA, KLNLF, Black Widow, AANLA, KRA, HuM, MULTA and HPC-D,
are active in the State. Forest Minister Rockybul Hussain said that
both the ULFA and NDFB are carrying out subversive activities in
Assam under the influence of foreign powers and top leaders of the
outfit are staying abroad. He further said that in 2008, 124 militants
belonging to various outfits were killed and over 1300 were arrested.
The Security Forces also recovered 203 bombs and 202 grenades from
the militants.
-
January 11: In a four-page statement
signed by 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua that was faxed to a
section of the media, the ULFA claimed that an "infamous" "gang
of six" police officers was responsible for the January 9 blast
in the Maligaon locality of Guwahati city to malign the outfit's
image.
-
January 10: Two ULFA cadres were
shot dead by Security Force (SF) personnel in two separate encounters
at Maligaon in Guwahati and Baksa.
Police arrested three ULFA cadres
from the Chandmari and Noonmati areas of Guwahati.
-
January 5: Sonitpur Police arrested
nine distributors and retailers of the Reliance Telecom Limited
(RTL), who without proper verification provided SIM cards, which
were used by the militants for the Guwahati serial blast on January
1. Police sources in Tezpur said that the investigation into the
entire episode started after the Police got evidence of the militants,
mostly ULFA cadres, using SIM cards issued in favour of fictitious
names to coordinate subversive activities. Police also came to know
that during the recent blasts in Guwahati the ULFA used two SIM
cards issued by a retailer in Dhekiajuli.
Bharalumukh Police arrested six persons
at Bhutnath from Rangiya in connection with the January 1 serial bomb
blast. They were identified as Imran Choudhury, Sanjib Talukdar, Hemanta
Phukan, Ganesh Kumar, Ravinder Singh and Tarun Kalita. Additional
Superintendent of Police (city) Jayashri Khersa revealed that they
had confessed their involvement in the bomb blast. While some of the
arrested persons were ULFA cadres, the rest were linkmen of the outfit.
A woman cadre of the '28th battalion'
of the ULFA, identified as 'sergeant major' Mridula Kachari alias
Trishna, who was trained in Myanmar, was arrested by Police and 44
Field Regiment of Army at Sonari in the Sivsagar District after a
brief encounter. Another ULFA cadre, Jun Sing, managed to escape from
the encounter site.
The Home Department said the State
Government had pointed out to the Union Government that several outfits,
including ULFA, AANLA and Black BW, were taking refuge in the camps
of NSCN-IM and NSCN-K in the neighbouring State of Nagaland. While
some senior ULFA cadres were carrying out their activities from NSCN-K
camps, militants belonging to the other two outfits were being hosted
by the NSCN-IM in its camps. "However, given that the government is
in a ceasefire with the two Naga outfits, it is Delhi's responsibility
to ensure that their camps are not misused," a source said.
-
January 4: The Assam Police arrested
a ULFA cadre, Sanjeev Talukdar, from Rangiya. He is suspected to
have supplied the explosives which were used in the January 1 serial
bomb blasts in Guwahati. Following Sanjeeb’s confession, several
other militants were also arrested. He used to reportedly act as
a carrier for the ULFA’s ‘709 battalion’ and handed over the explosives
to the main suspect of the blasts, Pranjal Deka, near Adabari bus
station, days before the explosions took place in Guwahati. Police
claimed that the deal between Pranjal and Sanjeeb was being co-ordinated
by Khagen Kalita, self-styled ‘Sergeant Major’ of the outfit’s ‘709
battalion’ over phone.
-
January 2: The Guwahati Police released
the photograph of Pranjal Deka alias Biju Saraniya alias
Bhambhal, a cadre of the ULFA’s 709th battalion, who according
to security agencies, masterminded all the three blasts in Guwahati
on January 1. Additional Superintendent of Police (City), Joyshree
Khersa, said that Deka, who hails from Dwarkuchi village in Baksa
District, is still holed up in the city along with at least five
other ULFA militants. "Combing operation is on and we have
intensified vigil across the State," Khersa said, adding that
Deka is wanted in connection with several other recent blasts.
The pro-talks group of the ULFA
has reportedly given up the demand for sovereignty. In a press meet
held at the designated camp at Kakopathar, the pro-talks group leader
Mrinal Hazarika said they would now sit for talks with the Government
within the framework of Indian Constitution.
-
January 1: ULFA militants triggered
serial bomb blasts in three different areas of Guwahati city, killing
five persons, including a minor, and injuring 50 others. The first
explosion took place around 2:25 PM (IST) in Birubari followed by
high-intensity explosions in the Bhootnath area (5:25PM) and Bhangagarh
area (5:40PM). The blasts were triggered hours before the scheduled
arrival of Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram. "From prima
facie evidences collected from the spot, it appears to be the handiwork
of suspected ULFA militants," said Additional Superintendent
of Police of Guwahati City, Debojit Deori. "The Birubari bomb,
which was planted in a GMC dustbin near the Assam Association of
Deaf office, was a low-intensity one. However, the subsequent blasts
were aimed to cause maximum damage as they were planted in crowded
areas," added Deori. Another unnamed Police official claimed
that the bomb in the Bhootnath area was planted in a bicycle. Director
General of Police, G.M. Srivastav, told The Hindu: "We
had information that some cadres of the ULFA’s 709 battalion have
entered the city to trigger blasts and we were hot on their trail.
Under pressure in the form of stepped-up security, they dumped one
bomb at a garbage bin in Birubari locality." He also said the
ULFA wanted to demonstrate its presence ahead of Chidambaram’s visit.
2008
-
December 29: A senior
ULFA militant, identified as Hasmut Ali alias Jahangir Ali,
surrendered before the East Garo Hills District Police at Bajengdoba
in the State of Meghalaya. He laid down an AK-81 assault rifle,
a hand grenade, three magazines and 71 rounds of AK ammunition.
The militant was trained at several ULFA camps in Bangladesh bordering
Garo Hills, and was made a ‘lance corporal of the 109 battalion’
of the outfit. He belonged to the 2006 batch of ULFA militants.
The report adds that the ULFA has time and again been using the
Garo Hills area for safe passage to and fro Bangladesh.
-
December 28: The pro-talks faction
of the ULFA which comprises cadres and leaders of the ‘Alfa’ and
‘Charlie’ companies of the outfit’s ‘28th battalion’ has set December
31 as the deadline for the top leaders of the outfit to take a decision
to hold a dialogue with the Government of India.
-
December 27: 19 ULFA cadres surrendered
and joined the pro-talks group at Kakopathar camp in the Tinsukia
District. Eight of the cadres were from the outfit’s ‘28th battalion’
headquarters based in Myanmar. They laid down weapons, including
rocket-propelled gun, a light machine gun and a universal machine
gun. "Most of the cadres lodged at the camps in Myanmar are
uncertain about their future. That is why we chose to get out of
the camps and join the pro-talks group," Dipankar Dutta, one
of the cadres, said. "We have been planning the escape since
we came know about the peace process," another cadre, Parashmoni
Rajkhowa, said.
-
December 23: Two ULFA cadres were
shot dead and a woman cadre wounded in an encounter with a joint
team of East Garo Hills District Police and Kumaon Regiment personnel
at Gambil Apel. The slain ULFA cadres were identified as A.K. Barman
Rabha and Bikash Majumdar, both hailing from Assam. The wounded
woman cadre, identified as Teji Mala Rabha, was arrested after the
encounter. However, eight other ULFA cadres managed to escape from
the encounter site. An AK-66 rifle, five magazines, 173 rounds of
ammunition, a hand grenade, a mobile phone, five demand notes and
other objectionable documents were recovered from the incident site.
Police later arrested two ULFA sympathisers, Lebison A. Sangma and
Laban C.H. Momin, from Gambil Apel.
-
December 22: SFs reported that some
cadres of the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the ULFA’s ‘28th battalion’
had gone "missing" from their designated camps in upper
Assam. SF sources said they were perturbed over the development
accompanied by reports that these cadres may have actually returned
to the outfit after remaining silent for the past six months. The
‘28th battalion’ had earlier declared a unilateral cease-fire in
June 2008. According to official records, there are 133 cadres belonging
to the ‘A’ and the ‘C’ company of the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA
lodged in the four Government-run designated camps at Sadiya, Kakopathar,
Moran and Nalbari. But the source said the recent head counts revealed
that a few cadres were missing from the camps. A leader of the pro-peace
group, Jiten Dutta, while accepting that some amount of frustration
is bound to creep in among a section of the cadres, denied that
some of them have fled and re-joined the outfit. A central intelligence
official based in upper Assam said, "Some other cadres, too,
are planning to return to the outfit frustrated over the slow progress
of the peace process." Inputs from local sources indicated
that the outfit has begun a fresh recruitment in all the three upper
Assam Districts of Sivasagar, Jorhat and Golaghat. There are also
some attempts to recruit fresh members from Tinsukia and Dibrugarh
Districts and from Dhemaji and Lakhimpur Districts. Simultaneously,
the outfit has also started extortion once again, the official added.
-
December 21: The ‘general secretary’
of the ULFA, Golap Barua alias Anup Chetia, has moved the United
Nations for refugee status and political asylum in a safe country
once he is out of Bangladesh jail where he is now under trial. The
ULFA mouthpiece ‘Swadhinata (Freedom)’ in its latest issue which
has been made available through the Internet, informed that Anup
Chetia, now lodged in a Bangladesh jail, has moved the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugee through its Bangladesh office for
political asylum and refugee status in a safe country as he fears
‘danger to his life’ once out from the jail.
-
December 19: One ULFA cadre, Mahesh
Bora alias Biman Bora, was arrested at his village Nahorani under
Jengraimukh Police Station in the Jorhat District.
-
December 18: The Army personnel
arrested one ULFA link man, identified as Memera Mech at Jakripoduli
village under Haloating Police Station in the Sivasagar District.
Two hand made grenades were recovered from the possession of the
captured linkman.
-
December 16: 38 militants belonging
to different militant outfits of the North East, including the ULFA,
NSCN-K, KLNLF, surrendered before Major General Jatinder Singh,
General Officer in-Command of 2 Mountain Division, at its headquarter
in Dinjan of Tinsukia District. Out of these, 16 were from ‘B’ company
of ‘28th Battalion’ of ULFA, seven from ‘C’ company of ‘28th Battalion’
of ULFA, four from its headquarter, seven from NSCN-K and remaining
four from KLNLF. Among the surrendered, there were two female cadres
of ULFA. The surrendered militants handed over 35 weapons, including
pistols, revolvers, rifles, and a cache of ammunition.
Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram
warned Bangladesh not to allow terrorist outfits from India to carry
out anti-India operations from its territory. While speaking in
Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament), he said, "The HuJI of
Bangladesh had perpetrated the October 30 Asom serial blasts in
which ULFA and NDFB were also involved," adding, most of the
insurgent groups operating from the Northeast, including the ULFA,
are based in Bangladesh. The Government had intelligence inputs
that the ULFA and other insurgent groups in the Northeast have been
working with the Bangladeshi terrorist outfit HuJI, the Home Minister
added.
The Union Government clarified that
it had no dialogue with the self-styled ‘28th Battalion’ of the
ULFA so far, reports Assam Tribune. According to the Government
of Assam, two companies of ‘28th Battalion’ announced a unilateral
cease-fire on June 24. Cadres of these two companies are staying
in the designated camps set up by the State Government, said Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Radhika V. Selvi, in reply to
a question by Narayan Chandra Borkataky in Parliament.
-
December 15: Two ULFA militants,
identified as Shibo Chetia and Rupantar Gogoi, were arrested by
the Army personnel from Cheleng village and Balipara Gaon respectively
under Naharkatia Police station in the Dibrugarh District. One pistol
and six rounds of ammunition were recovered from them.
-
December 11: SFs arrested a ULFA
militant, Babul Deka alias Pulok Deka, from the Udalguri District.
-
December 10: Two women cadres of
the ULFA, identified as Bandita alias Karabi Phukan of Mahmora Bhalukoni
under Kakotibari Police station and Satyama Bailung alias Niharika
a.k.a. Mamu of Timou Dabakhatia under Kakotibari Police Station,
were arrested by Mathurapur Police of Charaideo subdivision in the
Sivasagar District.
-
December 9: Assam Government announced
a monetary package to rehabilitate and sustain the pro-peace ULFA
cease-fire group. The package will be funded from both the central
and the state Government fund in the initial phase so that time
is not wasted in getting clearance. The group had asked for INR
3,000 for an unmarried cadre and INR 5,000 for a married cadre.
The Centre now gives a consolidated stipend of INR 2,000 per month
to a cadre in cease-fire period. Pro-peace leaders Mrinal Hazarika
and Jiten Dutta welcomed this decision and termed it as positive.
-
December 8: The Army
launched an operation in Sivasagar to neutralise the ‘B Company’
of ULFA’s ‘28 battalion’ and liberate Upper Assam from the clutches
of the outfit. Army source said the operations were launched mid
last week after authorities sent orders that no leniency be shown
to ‘B company’ till its militants agree to a truce like the ‘Alpha
and Charlie companies’, which declared a cease-fire in June 2008.
-
December 6: Two ULFA militants were
killed in an encounter with the SFs at Kurkarigaon under Kakotibari
police station in the Sivasagar district. One of those killed was
identified as Biraj Changmai. An AK-47 rifle and one 9mm pistol
were recovered from the encounter site.
An ULFA cadre, identified as Haresh
Patmont alias Jyoti Patmont, was killed in an encounter with SFs
at Gujarating in the Charaideo subdivision of Sivasagar district.
SFs also arrested another ULFA cadre, Kiron Jyoti Gogoi, and recovered
two 9mm pistol, one grenade, three magazines, one mobile phone,
15 live ammunition and INR 45,000 from the encounter site.
-
December 5: An ULFA bomb expert
and ‘lieutenant’ of its ‘709 battalion’, identified as Tapan Rai,
was shot dead in an encounter with a joint team of the army and
police at Belguri in Kokrajhar district. One AK-47 rifle with two
magazines of 16 rounds of live ammunition was recovered from his
possession.
-
December 4: Chief Minister Tarun
Gogoi said that the probe into the October 30 serial blasts in Assam
has established the involvement of the ULFA and NDFB. During a press
conference, he said, "We have evidence up to the level of ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Baruah and NDFB ‘supremo’ Ranjan Daimary. But to get to the
real brains behind the blasts, we need Central assistance, as we
cannot go to the neighbouring countries where the ULFA and NDFB
are having bases." Gogoi further said that the State’s militant
outfits operating from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Myanmar had become
"pawns in the hands of the HuJI, ISI and other forces" inimical
to the State’s and country’s interests.
-
November 29: A joint team of 66
Field Regiment of Army and police arrested a ULFA militant, identified
as Debanta Saikia, from Sapekhati in the Sivasagar district.
-
November 28: The ULFA was on an
extortion drive in the upper Assam districts. A number of demand
notes in ULFA’s pad were sent to a section of the doctors and businessmen
of Sivasagar town. The demand notes bear the signature of Montu
Saikia alias Bijoy Das, who is the ‘in-charge of finance’ of the
ULFA in the district. Meanwhile, the police said that the demand
notes are fake and do not resemble the usual ULFA demand notes.
Police sources have, however, confirmed reports of ULFA’s extortion
drive in the district and said that a four-member ULFA group under
Montu Saikia has entered the district with intent to carry out extortion.
-
November 27: An attempt made by
the ULFA militants to abduct an Afghan money lender from Aidoba
area of Dhubri district was foiled when he managed to escape.
-
November 26: A joint team of police
and the Army arrested one ULFA militant, Debendra Saikia from Moranhabi
village under Sapekhati police station in the Sivasagar district.
Another ULFA militant, ‘self-styled sergeant major’ Amar Kakoti
alias Kushal Konwar, was arrested by security personnel from Majulipur
under Jonai police station in the Lakhimpur district on the same
day. One 9-mm pistol and ammunition were recovered from his possession.
-
November 25: Troops of 37 Assam
Rifles arrested a United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) cadre during
a search operation along Lungwa-Phomching road in the Mon district
on November 25, according to Nagaland Post. He was identified as
Dhanti Dutta of Sonari in Assam. A 303 rifle along with magazine
and 10 live rounds and other incriminating documents were recovered
from his possession.
Telegraph quoting Meghalaya
Police source reports that that the ULFA and National Democratic
Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants are using the Liberation of Achik
Elite Force (LAEF) cadres to make crude bombs. Police recovered
five crude bombs along with other arms and ammunition and incriminating
documents from the nine LAEF militants arrested in the Ri-Bhoi district
bordering Assam on November 18. They suspect that the LAEF militants
were making a base in a forest area near Pilangkatta in the Ri-Bhoi
district and were seeking logistic support from the ULFA and NDFB
cadres.
-
November 24: Two ULFA militants,
identified as Hira Gogoi alias Debojit Dutta and Dipu Saikia alias
Dipu, surrendered at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat
district. They also laid down a revolver, an AK-47 and 30 rounds
of ammunition.
-
November 23: The Sivasagar police
and army personnel recovered a cache of explosives, including 10
kilograms of RDX, from the residence of a person, Shivlal Sarmah,
at Hunaipur Soraihojiya under Geleki police station, after an encounter
with the ULFA militants. However, the militants who took shelter
at Shivlal’s residence managed to escape from the incident site.
Telegraph reports that the
ULFA and NSCN-K are holding joint training sessions in the Lohit,
Tirap and Changlang districts of Arunachal Pradesh fearing possible
army crackdowns in Assam and Nagaland. A group of 30 newly recruited
ULFA cadres are undergoing a two months’ advanced training in villages
bordering Changlang and Myanmar under the supervision of ‘sergeant
commander’ Anjan Borthakur of the ‘B company of 28 battalion’ of
the ULFA, the outfit’s ‘publicity secretary’ Michael Deka and the
commander of NSCN–K Siv Konyak. "After two months of training,
the cadres will head for Myanmar to join other group members. It
is an alarming trend. This is the first time that Ulfa and NSCN
(K) are jointly conducting such advanced training courses in the
state," a police source said. The villages in Mahadevpur circle
of Lohit district, Ponchau circle of Tirap district and Bordumsa
circle of Changlang district are the outfits’ new havens. Both groups
have held recruitment drives in Lohit and received ‘satisfactory
response’, sources said. The report added that altogether 40 new
cadres were recruited in Mahikong, Malemna, Maling, Manchal areas
under Mahadevpur circle in the district. The NSCN-K also recruited
about 20 cadres from Khanu, Khasa, Bonya, Konnu and Konsa areas
of Tirap district in the past three months. The ULFA has also begun
a fresh recruitment drives in Borkhet Chaimu, Chamro and Changlai
villages of Changlang district. The report also said that the stretch
from Chessa to Chengmara along the Arunachal-Assam border is used
by militants from Assam as an escape route.
-
November 21: Assam Police arrested
a person, Nikhil Rai, from his residence at Bangiamari village in
the Dhubri district for his suspected links with the ULFA.
-
November 20: An unidentified ULFA
militant was shot dead by security force personnel during an encounter
on the embankment of Bornadi at Hindu-Moijali village under Baihata
Chariali police station in the Kamrup district.
-
November 19: A self-styled ‘sergeant
major of the 28 battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Ram Singh
alias Mintu Borgohain, was arrested by the Sivasagar district police
and 318 Field Regiment of the Army during a joint search operation
at Jabalating under Bokota Nemoguri police station.
The Army and police during a joint
search operation arrested a militant Golap Ali of Alibari under
Palasbari police station in the Kamrup district. Gelatine sticks,
detonators and a copy of an extortion note of the ULFA were recovered
from his possession.
-
November 16: The investigation
into the Assam serial blasts of October 30 has revealed a close
nexus between the ULFA and NDFB with Bhutan-based Maoist rebel groups,
reports Assam Tribune. Police sources said that the ULFA and NDFB
are against the Bhutan Government because of the Operation All Clear
launched against the outfits in 2003, while the Maoist groups are
strongly opposed to the move of the Government of the neighbouring
country to evict a sizeable number of Nepali populations from southern
Bhutan. In recent years, the ULFA and NDFB extended help to the
Maoist groups active in Bhutan by providing them with explosives.
These facts came to light following the arrest of a Bhutanese national,
Tenzing Zengpo, during investigations into the serial blasts. Zengpo
was arrested along with one of the suspects in the case in Guwahati
city. During interrogation, the Bhutanese national admitted the
long association they had with the ULFA and NDFB. Sources revealed
that Zengpo was earlier the general secretary of the Druk National
Congress of Bhutan and is currently associated with Maoist groups
active in Bhutan.
-
November 15: The troops
arrested one ULFA militant, Pradip Kumar Roy, from Koimari village
in the Kokrajhar district.
-
November 14: The investigations
into the October 30 blasts in Assam revealed that the ULFA has once
again found its way into Bhutan. Police sources said that they had
information about an ULFA camp on Bhutanese territory near Barpathar
village in Assam’s Chirang district. Two top rank cadres of ULFA’s
‘709 battalion’, identified as self-styled ‘second lieutenant’ Baba
Rabha and ‘sergeant major’ Kushal Das, are the in-charge of the
camp that has around 150 cadres. Police suspect that the commandant
of the ‘4th battalion’ of the NDFB, Ritikhang, is hiding in that
camp.
-
November 13: An IED
weighing 10 kilograms was recovered at Jaboka under Sonari police
station in the Sivasagar district on Sonari-Namtola road during
a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Army
and Police personnel. The bomb was planted in a pressure cooker
under a culvert. Security personnel also recovered a 30-metre wire
and four batteries from the spot. It is suspected that the ‘28th
battalion’ of ULFA had planted the bomb.
-
November 11: Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi in a press conference at Guwahati said
that the investigations revealed clear indications of the involvement
of the cadres of the ULFA and NDFB in the October 30 serial bomb
blasts. He also said that forces based outside the country might
have extended support to the militant groups to carry out the operation.
However, he said that it is not clear which force from outside provided
help to the ULFA and NDFB militants as a number of anti-India groups
have their bases in Bangladesh. He also expressed the view that
no force from outside would be able to carry out any major attack
in the State without the help of the "local militant groups."
November 10: The Darrang
district police arrested an ULFA militant, Neela Deka alias Chamappa,
for his involvement in the killing of a surrendered ULFA cadre.
-
November 9: A ULFA
linkman, Tutul Borgohain, was arrested by a joint force of Army
and Sivasagar District Police from Loraphuta village. A mobile handset
with a SIM card containing phone numbers of ULFA cadres was recovered
from his possession.
After remaining silent
for about three months, the ULFA has launched a fund-raising drive
in Sivasagar district, reports Sentinel. According to reports, the
ULFA has sent at least 15 extortion letters to businessmen and ONGC
employees of the town. Police sources confirmed the reports and
said a four-member ULFA group under the leadership of Montu Saikia
has entered the district. The group also had a woman ULFA cadre,
sources added. After the ceasefire by ‘A’ and ‘B’ companies of 28
battalion of the ULFA, all the companies under the battalion were
merged and Sujit Mohan was appointed as the "commander"
of the 28 battalion. Montu Saikia has been given the charge of finance
in the district, and all the extortion letters bear the signature
of Sujit Mohan.
The investigating agencies
had found clues that ULFA and NDFB carried out the Assam serial
blast of October 30 with the help of Bangladesh-based HuJI. "We
have found that the Bangladesh-based HuJI has provided the expertise
to ULFA and NDFB as none of them has the technology to explode such
devastating bombs which claimed 84 lives," a Home Ministry
official said. Home Ministry sources also added that the government
is worried over the fact that the northeast militants has started
using a deadly mixture of RDX, ammonium nitrate and plasticised
explosives to carry out explosions which led to greater casualties
which was never seen in the past. Though the operation was masterminded
by HuJI at the behest of the ISI, the NDFB and ULFA had provided
logistical support.
-
November 7: One unidentified
ULFA militant was killed in an encounter with Army at Lakhipur under
Borbori police station in the Baksa district. One 9mm pistol with
3 rounds live ammunition, some incriminating documents, about 2
Kilograms of explosive substances and the motor cycle used by them
recovered from the slain militants.
The Assam Police arrested
three militants of ULFA along with nine kilograms of TNT at Kolia
Bhomora Bridge over the Brahmaputra in the Tezpur district.
-
November 6: Army arrested
a ULFA linkman, Bhogeswar Panging of Chenimiora village under Sivasagar
police station following the confessions made by Parikshit Gogoi,
an ULFA militant who was arrested on November 3 from Panbessa village.
The Tripura Government
has submitted a comprehensive report to the Union Home Ministry
on terrorists backing militant outfits in the region, especially
Asom-based ULFA and Tripura-based ATTF, State Home Department sources
said. According to reports, the issue was also discussed at a high-level
security review meeting, chaired by National security Advisor M
K Narayanan, with police chiefs of the region. It was also revealed
at the meeting that the blasts in Asom were reportedly carried out
by Bangladesh-based HuJI in coordination with local outfit ULFA
and serial bomb blasts in Agartala were attributed to ATTF-ULFA
combine. The report also states that Pakistan-based ISI, Al-Qaeda
and Bangladesh-based HuJI. The militants were using Sonamura, Agartala
and Kailashahar in Tripura and Karimganj and towns of upper Asom
for entering India.
-
November 5: The officials
investigating the October 30 serial bomb blasts in Assam said that
the ULFA was behind the attack.
-
November 4: A joint
team of the Army and Police arrested Parikshit Gogoi of ‘B Company’
of the ULFA’s ‘28 battalion’ in the Sivasagar district along with
more than 1kg RDX, a pistol and a grenade.
The 318 Field Regiment
of the Army arrested one ULFA militant, Mrinal Kanti Cheleng from
Khamung gaon under Kakotibari police station in the same district.
-
November 3: A surrendered
ULFA cadre, Sanjib Baruah, was shot dead by the militants of the
same outfit in the Darrang district.
A joint team of Army
and Assam Police arrested a militant of the ‘709 battalion’ of the
ULFA, identified as Mohan Das. The arrested militant had taken shelter
at the residence of an ULFA linkman, Mantu Kalita, at Niznamati
village under Barama police station in the Nalbari district, reports
Telegraph. Police also arrested three other ULFA linkmen, Bhaskar
Kalita, Sourav Kalita and Vikash Kalita, in this connection.
The Army arrested one
ULFA linkman, Lachit Rajkonwar, from his residence at Bengenabari
in Charaideo subdivision of Sivsagar district.
-
October 31: Security personnel while
probing a possible HuJI-ULFA link to the October 30-serial blasts
arrested over 20 suspects including two vehicle owners. According
to police sources, Asib Mohammed Nizami and Zulfikar Ali, who are
the owners of two vehicles in which the bombs were concealed in
Ganeshguri area of the city and Bongaigaon, were arrested from Jhuria
Dagaon in the Nagaon district. "While suspecting the hand of the
Bangladesh-based HuJI outfit, police claimed to have got clues that
the blasts were carried out by people having local links", a top
Assam police official said.
Pro-peace ULFA leader Prabal Neog
denied the outfit’s alleged role in the October 30-serial blast
in Assam. Neog said that, "This is an act of total inhumanity and
the state government will have to take the entire responsibility
for this disaster. ULFA had never targeted innocents during its
operations. Our target was always the security forces, government
establishments, Oil and railway installations". There must be some
external forces behind this blast, he further added. Moreover, ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Barua, also denied ULFA’s role in the blast.
-
October 30: A total of 77 persons
were killed and about 300 injured in 13 near-simultaneous blasts
in Assam capital Dispur and adjoining city Guwahati and three other
districts- Kokrajhar, Barpeta, and Bongaigaon. Police said that
the involvement of jihadi groups like the Bangladesh-based HuJI-B
militants cannot be ruled out. The police are also examining whether
the ULFA was involved in the blasts.
The ULFA in an e-mail statement
denied its hand in the blasts and alleged that a section of the
government officials deliberately blamed the outfit to derail the
possible peace process.
-
October 27: The Mangaldai police
arrested one militant of the ULFA, when he was coming to collect
extortion money of INR 150,000 from a Junior Engineer of Mangaldai
town in the Darrang district. Later the militant was identified
as Sanjay Barman of Namsala village under Sarthebari police station
in the Barpeta district.
A self-styled ‘sergeant major’
of ‘109th battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Niren Das alias
Jibon Das, surrendered before Deputy Commissioner R.C. Jain and
Superintendent of Police Debajit Hazarika in the Kamrup district.
-
october 26: Around 30 militants
led by a self-styled ‘sergeant major’ Rafel Maradona of the ‘709th
battalion’ of the ULFA declared cease-fire. The report added that
they are camping at a designated area in Moiradonga.
Security forces located a training
camp run by the ULFA at Bakapura in the Sherpur district across
the international border with Meghalaya. The camp was located following
the arrests and surrender of a few cadres who came to Assam from
that camp. The report added around 150 ULFA militants, including
middle rank leaders such as Antu Chowdang, Pradyut Gohain and Drishti
Rajkhowa, are hiding in the camp. The intelligence sources mentioned
that the ULFA must be receiving direct or indirect help from the
DGFI or from the BDR as it would not have been possible for the
militant group to run a camp so close to the international border.
-
October 25: Five ULFA militants
and a soldier were killed during an encounter between a joint team
of the Army and CRPF personnel and militants at Mahina village in
the Nalbari district. The slain militants, including one identified
as Corporal Sanjit Sarania, belonged to the ‘709th battalion’ of
the ULFA. One kilogram of RDX, four pistols, two grenades, one radio
set, 29 rounds of live ammunition, one K.G. of urea, two IEDs, nine
detonators, five magazines of SLR and fuse wires were recovered
from the encounter site.
-
October 24: Police has established
direct links with Hira Sarania, leader of the ‘709th battalion’
of the ULFA, to bring overground the last potent fighting arm of
the outfit. Police sources said "though Sarania had not committed
himself for peace but not rejected the idea either". "He had not
snapped communication with us, which itself raises a lot of hope",
unidentified Police sources said. The ‘sergeant major’ of ULFA,
Bhaskar Rajbongshi, who surrendered in Guwahati a couple of months
back, was acting as the link between the police and the battalion
commander. After his surrender, Rajbongshi got in touch with Sarania
to persuade him to follow the path of the leaders of the 28th battalion.
The ULFA accused Jiten Dutta, a
senior pro-talks leader of 28th battalion, of killing many innocent
people, while he was in the outfit, to destroy the image of the
outfit with the help of Indian security force. The accusation comes
in the wake of protests by civilians in Kakopathar area of Tinsukia
district over the killing of youths in the Kumsang reserve forest
on September 30. The statement also mentioned that the killing was
carried out without the knowledge of the outfit’s top leadership.
The ULFA spokesperson said that protests in Kakopathar against the
outfit over the killings were also instigated by Dutta.
-
October 22: A ULFA militant, Diganta
Buragohain, was arrested by the Guwahati city Police when he came
to collect money from a city-based trader.
Hundreds of people, including women
and the elderly, led by various organisations, gathered in front
of Kakopathar Boys Higher Secondary School and staged a protest
in the incident of killing of five Assamese youths by the ULFA,
whose decomposed bodies and skeletons were found in Kumsang reserve
forest on September 30. This protest showed that the ULFA had loosen
its feet in the Dibrugarh district especially in Kakopathar area,
where the outfit had enjoyed unflinching support, till the mass
grave at their erstwhile camp was discovered.
-
October 21: The Government of India
had clarified that it has not received any ‘formal proposal’ from
ULFA for direct talks. The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Radhika
V Selvi in a reply to the question by Narayan Chandra Borkotoki
in Lok Sabha (lower house of parliament) said that "The Government
of India is open to talks with any militant groups including ULFA
provided that they should stop violence first".
-
October 17: Police arrested a surrendered
ULFA cadre, Dipen Barhoi, on charges of extortion at Mariani in
the Jorhat district.
ULFA is recruiting new cadres under
the ‘supervision’ of the self-styled ‘commander’ of the ‘28th Battalion’,
Bijoy Chinese, and ‘Lieutenant’ Antu Saudang, in the Sivasagar,
Jorhat and Golaghat districts. The report added that the new recruits
are being sent to Myanmar for training under the ‘guidance’ of ULFA
senior cadre Jiban Moran. As a result of this recruitment drive,
the number of trainees at Myanmar camp since the announcement of
ceasefire by two companies of the 28th battalion of ULFA has reportedly
increased to 130 cadres, who are being trained by Jiban Moran. Intelligence
sources further claimed that more than 40 new recruits from Dhemaji
and Lakhimpur districts were sent to Myanmar camp for training.
-
October 16: Unidentified militants
killed a civilian, identified as Ratul Das at Quarry Chowk under
Mushalpur police station in the Baksa district.
-
October 15: Three ULFA militants,
Indrajit Roy from Baterhat, Nihar Barua from Coochbehar and Sheikh
Mohammed from Chapor were arrested by the 21st Jat Regiment in Dhubri
district. One US-made 7.65 mm pistol, 2 magazines, six rounds of
live ammunition and one mobile set with SIM cards were recovered
from their possession, who ran an extortion racket.
-
October 14: Troopers of the Red
Horns Division of the Army arrested two suspected ULFA cadres from
the Agomoni areas under Golokganj police station in Dhubri district.
One 9-mm pistol, six rounds of live ammunitions, two mobile sets
were recovered from the two militants.
Investigations have pointed at the
involvement of ULFA in the October 1 serial blast in the Tripura
capital, Agartala. Interrogation of ATTF collaborators Shanti Debbarma,
Angad Santhal and a third arrested person, Brajamohan Debbarma the
father of hardcore ATTF militant Surjya has revealed that ULFA militants
had provided primary training in the use of explosives to a group
of ATTF militants, besides supplying them bomb-making materials.
CID’s report said that Surjya Debbarma masterminded the blasts.
The investigation further revels that a group of ATTF activists,
including Surjya, had undergone primary training in use of explosives
under the guidance of ULFA, before being intensively trained by
a group of BDR and Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI)
officers at Muksinghat near Chittagong town in Bangladesh in August
and September. The ATTF had received a consignment of bomb-making
materials from ULFA in their hideout at Satcherri just across the
border in Simna area of Sadar (north) and the materials had been
carried across the border by two tea garden labourers of Satcherri,
Mohan Munda and Mangal Munda, under the supervision of Surjya.
-
October 13: One Girish Kalita of
Belguri Pathar village under Mushalpur police station in the Nalbari
district was shot dead at Lamidara by two unidentified assailants.
Kalita was an ULFA activist who surrendered at the Tamulpur Army
Camp three months back.
Three militants, one each from NDFB,
AANLA and ULFA, surrendered before Brigadier VSBS Cherukupalli,
Commander of 25 Sector Assam Rifles of Dah Division, at Lekhapani
in Tinsukia district. The surrendered militants were identified
as Ajay Basumatary of NDFB, Ghanshyam Guala of AANLA and Hemakant
Deka of ULFA’s ‘27 Battalion’.
The former ‘commander’ of the pro-talk
faction of the 28th Battalion of the ULFA, Mrinal Hazarika has said
that former ‘commander’ of A and C companies of ULFA Jiten Dutta
is in no way involved in the killing of four youths whose decomposed
bodies were recovered on September 30 from a mass grave at Kakopathar
in the Tinsukia district. He also alleged that the present ‘commander’
of the 28 Battalion Bijoy Chinese was directly involved in the killing.
Hazarika further disclosed that the youths were killed on charges
of supplying all information to Army by then ‘commander’ of the
A company, Arun Baruah on the direct instruction of Bijoy Chinese.
After neutralising two fighting
wings of the ULFA, the 28 and 709 battalions, the government now
has set its sights on the 109 battalion which is the logistics division
of the outfit. This ‘battalion’ operates out of Goalpara district
and its adjoining areas across the Assam-Meghalaya border. The 109
battalion mainly looks after the logistical requirements of ULFA,
men and weapons and helps the rebels from Assam to cross over to
Bangladesh. It also arranges passage for cadres from the neighbouring
country to the state through the Garo hills of Meghalaya.
-
September 30: The dead bodies of
four youths were recovered from a mass grave in the reserve forest
at Kakopathar in the Tinsukia district, where makeshift camps of
the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA were located a few months ago.
The mass grave was suspected to be the dumping ground of dead bodies
of those who had been abducted and later killed by the ULFA militants.
The Army killed a ULFA militant
at Rangali Botuwagaon under Kakotibari police station in the Sivasagar
district. A 9-mm pistol, three live rounds, 600 grams of explosives,
four detonators, four bundles of wires, clothes and documents were
recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
-
September 29: The cease-fire group
of ‘28 battalion’ of the ULFA asked Assam Government to call off
army operations from Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts of upper Assam
on an "experimental basis" to give the peace process a chance.
-
September 28: The Guwahati city
police arrested ULFA militant, Pranjal Saika from the area under
the Fatasil Ambari police station and recovered a hand-made pistol
from his possession.
-
September 26: A ULFA militant was
killed during an encounter with security forces in the Baksa district.
A pistol, several rounds of ammunition and some documents were recovered
from the possession of the slain militant.
-
September 25: The dead body of Manashjyoti
Dutta, son of a co-operative inspector, abducted by the ULFA militants
from Nazira in Sivasagar district of Assam on September 8, was found
from a place near Nazira police station. The ULFA militants had
demanded INR 1.5 million for the release of Manashjyoti. The police
arrested one Pradip Dutta, a relative of Manashjyoti in this connection.
-
September 24: The security forces
arrested one Tutu Saikia, an ULFA militant at Panbesa in the Sivasagar
district. He was allegedly involved in the Rangghar Chariali blast.
-
September 21: The Army personnel
arrested a cadre of the 709 battalion of the ULFA, identified as
Prafulla Roy, of Kukshi village under Fakiragram police station
in Kokrajhar district. Two IED each weighing three kilograms were
recovered from his possession and were later defused by bomb squad.
-
September 19: In a statement from
Dibrugarh, the former ‘self-styled commander’ of ULFA Prabal Neog,
questioned the decision of the Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi, not
to withdraw army from the State. Neog is one of the leading figures
of the pro-peace ULFA faction.
-
September 18: ULFA militants killed
an alleged Army informer, Pramod Baishya, at Chengapathar village
under Kalaigaon police station in the Udalguri district.
An improvised explosive device (IED)
planted on a bicycle exploded inside Bijni circle office compound
in the Chirang district injuring 22 persons. The ULFA is suspected
to be involved in the incident.
-
September 16: The Army said that
Shashankar Baruah, who was killed in the September 12 encounter
with the troops in Dirak Reserve Forest Area near Margherita in
the Tinsukia district, was involved in re-organisation of the ULFA.
-
September 15: An ULFA militant,
identified as Uddhab Rai, was arrested by the security forces during
a joint operation at Golokganj area in the Dhubri district
-
September 12: Troops of the 19 Kumaon
Regiment killed a ULFA militant, identified as ‘second lieutenant"
Sasanka Baruah alias Ananta Gogoi, during an encounter inside Upper
Dehin-Derak Reserve forest in the Tinsukia district along the Assam-Arunachal
border. He was reportedly the ‘organisational secretary of the 28
battalion’ of the outfit. An AK-56 rifle and a magazine with four
live rounds and 26 empty cartridges were recovered from the encounter
site.
In a statement mailed to the media,
the ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa declared ‘expulsion’ of Prabal
Neog from the outfit for his alleged conspiracy in killing of Sasanka
Baruah.
-
September 8: The Nalbari police
recovered an IED near National Highway-31 from a bus on way to Nalbari
from Rangiya in the Kamrup district. Two suspected paid bomb couriers
of the ULFA, identified as Siraj Ali and Baputi Das, were arrested
in this connection.
-
September 5: A cadre of the ‘709
battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Dhan Kalita alias Joon was
arrested by Guwahati city police during a search operation at Amingaon
area.
-
September 2: ULFA militant, Gajen
Malakar was shot dead by security forces during an encounter at
Dakshin Singra near Rangia in the Kamrup district.
-
August 31: An ULFA cadre, Rabi Rava,
surrenders along with an AK-56 rifle at Udalguri Army camp. Rava
is a cadre of the ‘27 battalion’ of ULFA. He had joined the outfit
in 1996.
Army arrested four ULFA linkmen
while they were trying to extort INR 150000 from the manager of
a tea garden in the Sisumaria area under Nampur police station in
the Tinsukia district. They were identified as Kulinda Gogoi, Pintu
Kisan, Kebal Bangra, and Rajesh Kisan.
-
August 28: 39 militants, including
31 cadres of the ‘709 and 27 battalions’ of the ULFA, surrendered
before the Army at the headquarters of the 21 Mountain Division
at Rangia, about 45 kilometres way from Guwahati. The others included
five KLNLF cadres and cadres from the AANLA. The surrendered militants
deposited a huge cache of arms and ammunition, including pistols,
revolvers, grenades, detonators and gelatine sticks.
-
August 27: The pro-talks group of
the ULFA starts negotiations with some of the prominent leaders
of the ‘709 battalion’ in Nalbari. Jiten Dutta, self-styled commander
of the ‘Alfa and Charlie companies of the 28 battalion’, said one
round of talks is already over and he was expecting a formal announcement
of cease-fire by leaders of the ‘709 battalion’ soon. "Right now
we can only say that the discussions were along the expected lines,"
Dutta said.
-
August 25: Guwahati Police arrested
one Poornima Biswas and recovered two detonators, four gelatin sticks
and 10 rounds of AK-47 ammunition from her possession. Biswas is
originally from Malda in West Bengal and the police suspects that
she has links with the ULFA.
-
August 25: Two ULFA linkmen, identified
as Nabacharan Koch and Samudra Rava of Jangipara and Baspara villages
respectively, are arrested in a joint operation by the Army and
police.
-
August 23: The ULFA threatens its
defected leader, Jiten Dutta, with dire consequences if the latter
continues its efforts in collusion with police and the Army to engineer
erosion in the ranks of different ‘battalions’ of the ULFA.
-
August 22: Five ULFA linkmen, Rituram
Boro, Sankar Deb Sangha, Dipesh Roy, Sanjoy Singha and Bipul Singha,
are arrested in Bongaigaon. They are suspected to have been involved
in bomb blasts in the district in the recent past.
-
August 21: An unnamed senior police
officer said the leadership of the ‘709 battalion’ of the ULFA was
in contact with the police leadership and a formal cease-fire by
the group was ‘likely very soon’.
Two ULFA militants, Madhusudan Roy
and Monu Roy, are arrested by the Army personnel during a search
operation at Agomoni in the Dhubri district. 27 rounds of live ammunition
of AK-47 rifles are recovered from them.
-
August 20: The Nalbari district
police arrested a cadre of the ‘709 Battalion’ of the ULFA, Bhaskar
Rajbongshi, from Maligaon in Guwahati. Bhaskar said that he would
not surrender but try his best to bring his co-cadres in the outfit
to the negotiation table.
-
August 18: Police arrested a ULFA
cadre, Tajen Ray, from Tamuapara in the Bongaigaon district. A Bulgarian
pistol with 39 live rounds and a Chinese grenade are recovered from
him.
-
August 17: Troops arrest three ULFA
militants from Kokrajhar town. One pistol, one grenade, one AK series
magazine and 11 live ammunitions are recovered from them.
-
August 16: One suspected ULFA militant
is wounded during an encounter with police personnel at Azara in
Guwahati.
Two bomb blasts are triggered by
suspected ULFA militants at Swahidbedi and Paglathan in the Bongaigaon
district.
-
August 15: Two civilians are wounded
in a bomb blast triggered by the ULFA at the Block Development Office
near the venue of Independence Day celebration at Dharmasala in
the Dhubri district.
One bomb hanging on a tree on the
parade ground at Gauripur town of Dhubri district explodes. Another
blast occurs near the parade venue at Kajalgaon in the Chirang district
when suspected ULFA militants lob a grenade. None were injured in
these incidents.
People chased a group of three ULFA
militants while trying to destroy a flag hoisted on the premises
of the Bhutiapara Lower Primary School in the Chirang district.
Even as the militants opened fire to scare the public, the locals
captured the two militants. One 9-mm pistol and some ammunition
were recovered from them.
-
August 13: Two ULFA
militants are shot dead by Assam Police and the Army during an encounter
at Sanyasini Pahar in the Bongaigaon district. Two German-made revolvers,
two bullets, five empty cartridges and two mobile handsets with
many SIM cards are recovered from the possession of the slain militants.
Other militants manage to escape from the encounter site.
SFs recovered RDX weighing
2.25 kilo grams in the form of 10 solid sticks with black coating
from Borkona Pahar under Mancachar police station in the Dhubri
district. Police suspect that the ULFA was ferrying the consignment.
-
August 12: Two ULFA
militants are shot dead by troops during an encounter at Chotemari
in the Nalbari district. One 7.62-mm pistol, a bullet, a grenade
and IEDs weighing five kilograms are recovered from the possession
of the slain militants.
-
August 11: One unidentified ULFA
militant is shot dead by troops during an encounter at Paikan Madhapara
in the Goalpara district. One IED weighing five kilograms with electronic
detonators, a 7.65- mm pistol and three rounds of ammunition are
recovered from his possession.
Suspected ULFA militants lob a grenade
at the office premises of the Bongaigaon District Superintendent
of Police damaging a few windowpanes.
-
August 10: Four militant groups
- the ULFA, Manipur People’s Liberation Front, Tripura People’s
Democratic Front and the KLO – ask people in the Northeast region
to boycott the celebrations of Independence Day on August 15
-
August 9: During a search operation
to arrest an ULFA cadre, the SFs unearthed a bunker made of concrete
wall at a bamboo grove at Pakamara village under Borbori police
station in the Baksa district.
Two IEDs planted by the suspected
ULFA militants at Gouripur in the Dhubri district are recovered
and later defused by the Army personnel. The report adds that the
IED can be programmed in a manner that if the first detonator fails
to trigger the explosion, the second one will get activated automatically.
"This enhances the precision of the IEDs as well as making deactivation
very risky. Timer devices are generally very erratic. Many a times
they fail to explode because of a problem in programming. But in
this kind of device, if one programme fails, it automatically activates
the other," an unnamed Army explosive expert says.
-
August 8: One ULFA linkman, identified
as Jakir Hussain, was arrested during a joint operation by Army
and Assam Police at Phuturigaon under Chaygaon police station in
Kamrup district. A trans-receiver device with the capacity to intercept
other radio messages within 30 kilometres range was also recovered
from his possession..
-
August 7: Suspected ULFA militants
trigger a bomb blast in Bongaigaon damaging a portion of a drain.
One suspected ULFA cadre, Subhrata
Chanda, is arrested by the Guwahati Police from the Inter-State
Bus Terminus. Two gelatine sticks and many detonators are recovered
from his possession.
-
August 5: Army arrested two ULFA
cadres, Abdul Zumur Sheikh and Ismail Murmu,
from Gossaigaon.
-
August 4: A trooper of the Sashastra
Seema Bal (a paramilitary force), Rana Sarma, is shot dead by suspected
ULFA militants at Malihita on the Assam-Bhutan border under Chirang
district.
-
One senior ULFA leader and ‘commander’
of the outfit’s 109th battalion, Dharmen Hajong, who was arrested
on August 2-night, allegedly committed suicide inside a cell at
Tura police station in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
Police said he used his blanket to hang himself inside the cell.
Hajong, who was originally from the 28th battalion, two months back
replaced Madan Koch, killed in an encounter on January 22, as the
‘area commander’ of the 109th battalion in charge of Garo Hills,
was mainly responsible for monitoring supply of arms and ammunition
from Bangladesh to cadres in Assam via the porous Garo Hills border.
-
August 2: A senior ULFA leader is
arrested from Tura Super Market in Meghalaya. According to police
sources, the ULFA leader, identified as Dharmen Koch, belonged to
the 128th Battalion of the outfit and he had been running a shop
in Tura Super Market for the past two months. During interrogation,
Dharmen revealed that two months ago he received an order from the
ULFA leadership to shift the Battalion to Myanmar since the atmosphere
in Bangladesh was not conductive for the organisation. One week
later, he was again asked to take over as 'area commander' of ULFA's
109th Battalion in Garo Hills from Madan Koch who was killed in
a police encounter on January 22, 2007. Police said the 109th Battalion
was involved in supplying arms to the ULFA from Bangladesh through
Garo Hills. The Battalion also carried out extortion drives in the
plain belt areas of Garo Hills.
-
July 31: One ULFA cadre is arrested
with a sophisticated digital mine along the Assam-Meghalaya border.
-
July 30: Assam Tribune reported
that the ULFA has business interests in a leading media house, the
Transcom Media, in Bangladesh. Transcom Media is the publisher of
the prestigious Bengali daily Prothom Alo, English daily The Daily
Star, besides two periodicals. The report adds that the outfit‘s
business interests are diverse – ranging from driving schools, nursing
homes, hotels to garment export houses to deep-sea trawlers.
-
July 27: The pro-talks leader of
the ULFA, Prabal Neog, while addressing a gathering at Gondhoiguri
in the Tinsukia district said that "a handful of leaders and cadres"
cannot usher in peace in Assam.
-
July 25: One trader, Pankaj Kumar
Bezbaruah of Tihu area in Nalbari district, who was abducted by
three United ULFA militants on July 3-evening, is released. Meanwhile,
the Nalbari district All Assam Students Union secretary, Salim Malik,
is arrested in this connection.
-
July 23: Three cadres of the ULFA’s
‘709 battalion’ are killed in an encounter with Army and police
at Namati village under Ghograpar police station in the Nalbari
district.
-
July 21: One ULFA linkman, Mukul
Saikia, is arrested by the troops from the Dalang Ghat area in the
Darrang district.
-
July 20: The ULFA rules out peace
talks with the Union Government in the near future, stating that
it would go down fighting like the father of Naga insurgency A.Z.
Phizo "rather than surrender to the Indian forces like (former Mizoram
chief minister) Laldenga."
-
July 19: An ULFA leader, Amrit Dutta,
is killed in an encounter with the police at Katonihati Jurbil under
the Jengraimukh police station in Jorhat district. However, two
of his accomplices managed to escape. Amrit Dutta carried a head
money of INR 300,000 and was responsible for the abduction and subsequent
killing of Sanjay Ghose, an activist of the non-governmental organisation
AVARD-NE in 1997.
Police arrested a person, Ranjan
Bikash Borgohain, from the residence of a Parliamentarian, Anowar
Hussain, in New Delhi, while trying to extort money in the name
of ULFA. Hussain is a Parliamentarian from the Dhubri constituency
in Assam. Ranjan had contested the last Legislative Assembly elections
from Tingkhong seat in Assam on a Bharatiya Janata Party ticket.
-
July 18 : The ULFA ideologue,
Bhimkanta Buragohain, is remanded to 14 days judicial custody in
connection with the various charges against him under the Arms Act.
He is presented before the Tezpur Additional District Sessions Judge
along with two other accomplices, Bolin Das alias Amarjyoti Gogoi
and Amulya Roy, who were also awarded similar sentences.
The former commander of ULFA’s 28
battalion, Mrinal Hazarika, addressing a gathering at the Omeo Kumar
Das Institute of Social Change and Development, said: "Come
what may, we will not take up guns against our colleagues, even
if we are attacked."
-
July 11: The ULFA militants belonging
to ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the ‘28 battalion’ led by Mrinal Hazarika
start taking shelter at the designated camp set up at the jail complex
of Chapakhowa under Sadiya sub-division in the Tinsukia district.
-
July 10: The leader of the pro-talks
faction of the ULFA, Moon Borah alias Jiten Dutta, said that they
had proposed to set up a designated camp at Lakhipathar in the Tinsukia
district.
-
July 7: Two ULFA militants, Prasanna
Bora and Mintu Bhuyan, are arrested by the Assam Police at Chardwar
in the Sonitpur district. They were arrested while coming to one
Jayanta Sen Deka, a Congress party leader of the area, to extort
money which was demanded a few days back by the outfit.
-
July 8: Around 5,000
people gather at an auditorium in Kakopathar in the Tinsukia district
to endorse the path of peace chosen by a section of the ULFA’s ‘28th
battalion’.
-
July 7: The ULFA chairman
Arabinda Rajkhowa said that three pro-talks leaders of the ‘28th
battalion’, Mrinal Hazarika, Moon Borah alias Jiten Dutta and Joon
Sonowal alias Joon Bhuyan, are expelled from the primary membership
of the outfit for ‘anti-organisational’ activities and initiating
talks with ‘colonial India’.
-
July 6: Nearly 150
surrendered ULFA cadres of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia gather at Chabua
and urge the Union Government, Assam Government and the ULFA leadership
to "look beyond their respective rigid stands and simply come forward
for direct talks."
-
July 5: The ULFA ‘commander’
Jiten Dutta said that leaders and cadres of the ‘28 battalion’ of
the outfit would not lay down arms though it had announced a unilateral
cease-fire with the Government.
The ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa said the outfit will not dissolve the People’s
Consultative Group constituted by it to facilitate the peace talks.
-
July 4: Assam Government
offers security to the leaders and cadres of the ‘A and C companies
of 28 battalion’ of the ULFA, who had recently declared a cease-fire,
similar to the kind of protection provided to surrendered militants.
-
July 3: Army arrested
one ULFA cadre, Manik Baruah, from Athrighat along Baksa-Udalguri
border. He is from the ‘707 Battalion’ of the outfit.
-
July 2: Mangaldai police
arrest three persons in connection with the June 29 killing of a
surrendered ULFA cadre, Tapan Saikia, by ULFA militants at Jaljali
in the Darrang district. They are identified as Ajoy Saikia, Bhaben
Das and Bipul Deka.
Police said that the
ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua, and two other leaders, Chitraban
Hazarika and Antu Chowdang, are respectively known as Kamruj Zamal,
Mizanur Rehman and Khan Baba in Bangladesh. "We have compiled a
detailed report vis-à-vis residential addresses, the Islamic
names and business dealings of each and every militant leader currently
staying in Bangladesh," an unnamed police officer said.
-
July 1: The ULFA mentioned
in the editorial of its mouthpiece Freedom that the security
of sovereignty of Assam was never a precondition of the group, and
it was only an agenda of talks. "The security of sovereignty of
Asom was never a precondition of the ULFA. It was the media that
hyped the issue of sovereignty and projected it as one of our preconditions,"
the editorial said, adding, "for peace talks with the Government
of India, the ULFA had only two preconditions — any talks with the
Government of India should be held in a third country and that should
be under UN mediation. We, however, dropped these two preconditions
also when the PCG went to New Delhi to do the spadework for the
peace process."
-
June 30 : A bomb
planted by the ULFA militants explodes at Diphu town in the Karbi
Anglong district.
Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi said that the ULFA was serving the interest of the forces
inimical to India including that of the Pakistani Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI).
-
June 30: Mrinal Hazarika,
‘commander of the 28th battalion’ of the ULFA, appeals to the other
‘battalions’ of the outfit to enter into a cease-fire for the sake
of the people of Assam.
-
June 29: At least seven
persons are killed and 35 others, including two policemen, are injured
in an explosion at a weekly crowded marketplace in the Kumarikata
village of Nalbari district. Police accused the ULFA for the blast.
One surrendered ULFA
cadre, Tapan Saikia, is shot dead by four suspected ULFA militants
at Jaljali in Mangaldoi.
At least five persons,
including two policemen, were injured in a grenade blast triggered
by the ULFA militants at Teliapatty in Nagaon.
At least seven persons
are killed and 35 others, including two policemen, are injured in
an explosion at a weekly crowded marketplace in Kumarikata village
of Nalbari district. Police accused the ULFA for the blast.
June 28 : Bangladeshi
journal Narinjara News reports that the ULFA cadres staying
in Maungdaw town of Myanmar have been preparing to set up a generator
powered by paddy husk to supply electricity. "The group is now setting
up a generator in Maungdaw town and will start the distribution
of electricity from July or August," the journal said. The generator
would provide power to Maungdaw for five to six hours a day. The
journal added that about 20 ULFA members are living in Maungdaw
where they run cosmetic shops, a computer cafe, and a telephone
booth.
-
June 26: One woman,
identified as Joyanti Koch, who used to provide ULFA with information,
is arrested while she was moving out of Mancachar in Dhubri district.
An unidentified ULFA
militant is killed while two others manage to escape in an encounter
with the security forces (SFs) at Maju village in the Nalbari district.
A 9-mm pistol and a grenade were recovered from his possession.
Police said three militants, who were taking shelter in a house,
tried to flee by lobbing a grenade when the SFs raided the village.
Two others managed to flee.
-
June 25 : Following
the unilateral cease-fire declared by A and C companies of the ‘28th
battalion’ of the ULFA, Assam Government decides to stop military
operations against these two particular companies of the outfit.
However, operations would continue against those elements indulging
in violence. Assam Director General of Police R. N. Mathur said,
"We welcome the cease-fire gesture by the 28th battalion and our
stand has been to help anyone who is interested in peace. However,
action will continue against those indulging in subversive activities."
-
June 24 : Militants
of the A and C companies of the 28th Battalion of the ULFA announce
a unilateral cease-fire. In a statement distributed at Chapakhowa
in the Tinsukia district after a meeting of the militants at Amarpur
in Sadiya, they said, "In the interest of a peace dialogue between
ULFA and the government, we desire discussions to sort out the problems
of Assam. To facilitate a congenial atmosphere for the talks, we
are declaring a unilateral cease-fire from June 24, 2008, and we
hope our gesture would result in reciprocation from the Assam government
and the Government of India. Our decision of today follows a deep
desire of the people of Assam for peace talks, and we would appeal
to the ULFA Central Committee and the Government of India as well
as the Government of Assam to initiate peace talks immediately."
However, the B Company of the battalion, which has about 150 cadres,
was not present at the meeting.
Around 32 militants
belonging to the ULFA, NSCN-IM and NSCN-K surrender before the Army
at Mariani in the Jorhat district. Of the 32 surrendered militants,
26 belong to ULFA, four belonged to NSCN-IM and two are from NSCN-K.
26 ULFA cadres surrendered
before the Army at Tamulpur in the Baksa district.
Two ULFA cadres surrender
at Diphu in the Karbi Anglong and Chariduar in Sonitpur districts.
The militants laid down two AK series rifles, four revolvers, 21
pistols, eight grenades besides huge quantity of assorted ammunition
during their surrender.
-
June 23 : Assam
Government asks Police to restrain from any unilateral action against
the ULFA as that could hamper peace efforts with the outfit’s 28th
battalion. A secret memo was reportedly been issued to all district
superintendents of police a few days back to bolster the Government’s
initiative to bring the outfit’s most potent unit over ground.
The vice-president
of the Bodo Santi Mancha (BSM), Lakshman Boro, is shot dead by former
BLT cadres at his residence at Bagulamari village under Barbari
police station in the Baksa district. The police recovered two empty
cartridges from the spot.
-
June 22 : Assam
Police arrest senior Peoples’ Consultative Group member Hiranya
Saikia from his shop at Christian Basti in Guwahati on charges of
his alleged link with ULFA. Additional Superintendent of Police
Debojit Deori says a case was registered against Saikia under the
Unlawful Activities Prevention Act.
-
June 17 : Two ULFA
militants are killed during an encounter with Army personnel at
Bandarkhati Khamti village near Namchai in the Lohit district of
Arunachal Pradesh bordering Assam. One pistol, a revolver and an
improvised explosive device weighing ten kilograms are recovered
from them.
-
June 14: A hardcore ULFA militant,
identified as ‘Lance Corporal’ Prabin Gogoi alias Dhanti was a member
of the outfit’s 28th Battalion’s C company, was killed in an encounter
with the Army personnel at Saraipung under Digboi police station
in the Dibrugarh district.
-
June 15: Four hardcore ULFA cadres
of the 28th battalion were shot dead by the Army in an operation
at Kanubari village of Charaideo subdivision of Sibsagar district.
The slain militants have been identified as Badal Khargoria, Annie
Bauri, Sumit Gohain and Ajit Gogoi.
Army arrested three suspected ULFA
linkmen from Bimalapur under Borhat Police Station. They have been
identified as Bitupan Gogoi, Lakhyajit Gogoi and Lokesh Gogoi.
-
June 16: A surrendered ULFA member,
Rana Gogoi, was arrested by Dibrugarh police in connection with
a blackmailing and sex racket case.
-
June 17: A surrendered ULFA activist
Tilok Gogoi alias Montu was arrested by the Police at Sapekhati
in the Sibsagar district on the allegations of torturing a woman.
-
June 10: Three ULFA
militants were shot dead in an encounter with the SFs at Borbam
village under Tengakhat Police Station in the Dibrugarh district.
A ULFA militant, identified
as Aditya Naidu alias Tarun Pandav, of the Bravo Company of the
28th Battalion of the outfit was killed in an encounter with the
Army at Timon tea estate under Kakotibari Police Station in the
Sivasagar district. A woman ULFA cadre, identified as Karabi Gogoi,
was also arrested during the encounter.
Police arrested three
suspected ULFA conduits from a house in the South Sarania area of
Guwahati. They were identified as Abani Mahanta, Chandan Deka and
Nayan Sarma.
-
June 9: Two ULFA
militants were killed in an encounter with the SFs at Palashguri
in the Baksa district. The militants are identified as Dharya Deka,
the ‘commander’ of ULFA’s 709 Battalion and another cadre, Rana
Rabha.
-
June 8: Army personnel
killed a ULFA militant and seized a huge consignment of arms during
an operation at Teji Gaon village in the Dinjan area of Dibrugarh
district.
A ULFA linkman, Dhaneswar
Deka alias Rinku Deka, was arrested from Karbi Anglong.
-
June 6: Two hardcore
ULFA militants, identified as Hitesh Basumatary and Manoj Boro,
were killed in an encounter with security forces at Jagannathpur
under Tihu Police Station in the Nalbari district.
-
June 5: A ULFA militant
was killed in an encounter with the Army at Jengonichowk under Kakopathar
Police Station in the Tinsukia district.
-
June 3: Guwahati city
Police arrested two ULFA militants, including a woman cadre, from
the Inter State Bus Terminus under Gorchuk Police station in Guwahati.
-
June 2: Two ULFA militants,
Jehirul Islam and Mujibur Rehman, surrendered before the security
forces at Dhubri. The militants also deposited one AK 81-1 rifle,
two Chinese grenades, 74 rounds of ammunition, three magazines and
one ammunition pouch.
-
June 1: Two ULFA militants
were killed in an encounter with the security forces at Khardang
Dalupara Rangsekgaon under Dudhnoi Police Station in the Goalpara
district.
-
May 31: Suspected ULFA
militants shot dead Khagen Chandra Deka, head of the Dolonghat village
under Kalaigaon Police Station in the Udalguri district.
A senior cadre of the
28th Battalion of the ULFA, Sanat Gogoi, surrendered before the
security forces at Duliajan Army camp in the Dibrugarh district.
A close associate of
the ULFA chairman Arobindo Rajkhowa, idenitifed as Kamala Rajkonwar,
was arrested by the Army at Charimuthia Konwar village near Lakwa
in the Sibsagar district.
-
May 24: A hardcore
ULFA militant, identified as Pulan Moran alias Phulen Chetia, was
shot dead in an encounter with Army personnel at Bormusai in the
Dirak area of Tinsukia district.
A ULFA militant was
killed in an encounter with the Army at Barahi Kacharigaon under
Sonari Police Station in the Sivasagar district.
-
May 23: 12 ULFA militants
surrendered before the security forces at Dinjan Army camp in the
Dibrugarh district.
-
May 22: Suspected ULFA
cadres shot dead a civilian, identified as Dhaneswar Moran, at Nakathalguri
village under Pengeri Police Station in the Tinsukia district.
-
May 19: Five persons
were injured when suspected ULFA militants hurled a grenade at Rani
Sati Mandir Path in the Tinsukia district.
-
May 18: A ULFA militant,
identified as Hemanta Moran alias Utpal Neog, was killed in an encounter
with the Army that took place at Bor-Dirak village under Kakopathar
Police Station in the Tinsukia district.
-
May 14: Two ULFA hideouts
were neutralised by the Army personnel in the Dibru Saikhowa reserve
forest of Tinsukia district.
-
May 12: Two ULFA cadres
were killed in an encounter with the Army at Leseri in the Baksa
district.
Police arrested an
ULFA cadre, Geetanjali Devi, at Barama in the Nalbari district.
An ULFA cadre, Sanjay
Hazarika, was arrested by police from Tipling Tiniali in the Tinsukia
district.
-
May 9: Two ULFA linkmen
were arrested by the security forces at Amtuli under Fakiragram
police station in the Kokrajhar district.
-
May 8: Two ULFA militants
were killed by the Army personnel during an encounter at Kathalguri
Hunjan village under Kakopathar police station in the Tinsukia district.
Two 9-mm pistols are recovered from their possession.
Seven ULFA cadres surrendered
before the Deputy Commissioner of Police of Kamrup district R.C.
Jain at Guwahati.
Army neutralised a
ULFA camp at Parbatpur town bordering Dilli Reserve Forest and Joypur
Reserve Forest in the DIbrugarh district.
-
May 7: Army personnel
arrested one ULFA linkman, Manoj Gogoi, from Maut Metimekhana village
in the Dibrugarh district.
-
May 5: Telegraph
reports that Nirmal Konwar, ‘second-in-command of the 27 battalion’
of the ULFA, confessed that the outfit is now carrying out only
operation-specific recruitment, where a person is assigned a single
task and has no links with the outfit thereafter. Konwar and his
wife were arrested when they were undergoing treatment at a nursing
home in Guwahati on May 1. "If the target is a politician, persons
having access to the political field are being selected for the
purpose. Training is provided on the use of pen pistols," he said.
The report added that these recruits, when arrested, cannot provide
any clues to the police because they are unaware of the identities
of those who engaged them.
Two ULFA militants belonging to the‘709 battalion’ were arrested
by the Army personnel from Agomoni in the Dhubri district.
-
May 1: A trooper, identified
as Saheb Singh, and one ULFA militant, Ajay Deka, are killed during
an encounter at Dalanghat under Kalaigaon police station in the
Darrang district. Two militants, including one injured in the encounter,
managed to escape. A pistol, two magazines, 115 rounds of AK-47
rifle ammunition and mobile phones were recovered from the incident
site.
Two ULFA cadres, Indra
Raja alias Numal Konwar and his wife Dharitri alias Damayanti, were
arrested when they were undergoing treatment for malaria at a private
hospital in the Guwahati city. They belonged to Baghara village
in the Morigaon district and were trained in Bhutan.
One ‘sergeant’ of the
ULFA, identified as Kalpajyoti Gogoi alias Kolamoni, is arrested
by the SFs during a search operation near Sapekhati police station
in the Sonari district.
-
April 30: A joint team
of the Army and Assam Police neutralised a ULFA transit camp at
Bangshijhora hill in the Dhubri district. An unnamed senior police
officer said the camp was frequently used by the ULFA, NDFB and
KLO militants, since they have some common areas of operation and
used this vital transit camp not only for shelter but also for ammunition
supply. Ten rounds of live ammunition of 12 bore pistols, seven
rounds of 12 bore fired cases, eight live and five spent rounds
of ammunition of AK-47 rifles, 18 live and seven spent rounds of
.22 pistols, two blank detonators, 500 grams of explosive, one improvised
explosive device (IED), wires, one 7.62-mm magazine of LMG and one
rotating block of AK-56 were seized from the camp. A Global Positioning
System device, a digital diary, two blank extortion notes signed
by the ‘commandant of 709 battalion’ of the ULFA, Hira Saraniya,
a Chinese camera, 20 kilograms of rice and one kilogram of Bengal
gram were also recovered.
-
April 25: 27 ULFA militants, including
a woman cadre, surrendered before General-officer-Commanding (GOC)
of 21 Mountain Division, Major General Chander Prakash, and senior
police officials at Tamulpur in the Baska district along with a
large number of arms, ammunition, and extortion notes. Of the 27
cadres, 19 were from the ULFA ‘709 battalion’ while the rest of
them belonged to the outfit’s 27 and 109 battalions. Some of these
cadres were reportedly trained in the ULFA camps in Bhutan and Bangladesh.
"This is the fourth surrender since October. It is fallout
of the growing differences of opinion between the top leadership
and cadres of Ulfa," Major General Prakash said. He added that
due to concerted counter-insurgency operations targeting the ULFA,
the strength of the outfit has come down to hundred odd members
in Lower Assam. He informed the media at the headquarters of the
Red Horns Division that "The Red Horns Division, since the last
many years, is trying to put consistent pressure on the ULFA, especially
in the Lower Assam area, and this has helped in restoring peace."
-
April 23: Assam Police arrested
three youths when they were extorting in the guise of ULFA militants
at Jorhat. They were identified as Montu Dutta, Babajan Ali and
Biren Bora.
-
April 23: Sentinel
reports that the ULFA has changed its extortion strategy. Instead
of issuing written extortion notes, the outfit is now demanding
a huge amount of cash from the businessmen of upper Assam by sending
SMS through mobile phones. The report added that when the security
forces were conducting counter-insurgency operations in upper Assam,
cadres of the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA led by self-styled ‘commander’
Bijay Chinese were sending SMS to a number of businessmen of upper
Assam demanding amounts ranging from INR 10 00000 to INR 50 00000.
-
April 22 : The Sivasagar
district administration announced that a surrendered ULFA leader,
Tileswar Lahon, who was allegedly involved in the April 13 killing
of one Dulen Baruah at Himpora village under Moranhat police station,
would be arrested. The announcement was made by Sivasagar Deputy
Commissioner N.M. Hussain at his office when thousands of students
and villagers under the leadership of the All Assam Students Union
protested.
-
April 18: The Union
Government categorically rules out any possibility of talks with
the ULFA on its main demand for sovereignty. The Union minister
of State for Industry, Ashwani Kumar, said, "We are all for talks
but these have to be within the ambit of the Constitution. The unity
and integrity of the country is not negotiable, let there be no
ambiguity on this front."
-
April 16: The Union
Minister of State for Home Affairs, Radhika V. Selvi, informs the
Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) that inputs suggest
that the ULFA has been using the territory of Bangladesh to procure
and smuggle arms and explosives into India. The Minister was replying
to a question on whether ULFA commanders have a vast network running
seven hotels and six nursing homes, besides procuring weapons through
the port city of Cox’s Bazaar in Bangladesh.
-
April 12: One ULFA militant was
shot dead by the Army personnel who retaliated when eight suspected
ULFA cadres opened fire on them at upper Dihing Reserve Forest in
the Tinsukia district.
Two ULFA cadres, Mandal Hasda alias
Sadhu and Birbal Murmu, were arrested by the Army personnel at Gwmfela
under Kachugaon police station in the Kokrajhar district.
-
April 7: ULFA hoisted its flags
at several places in the State on the occasion of its ‘raising day’.
-
April 6: One ULFA-linkman is arrested
from Debottarhasdah village under Golokganj police station in the
Dhubri district.
One hardcore ULFA militant, Hemchandra
Bora alias Udipta Hazarika, surrenders before the Assam Police in
the Tinsukia district.
-
April 4: Sentinel reports
that the ULFA has plans to execute a series of disruptive acts in
the Dibrugarh district during its ‘foundation day’ on April 7. The
report added that a group of 10 ULFA militants headed by hardcore
militant Madhurjya Gohain are already moving around Tingkhong, Tengakhat,
Khowang and Sasoni areas in the district and waiting for an appropriate
situation to trigger bomb blasts and kill innocent persons. Militants
have also reportedly intensified their extortion activities and
have set a target of extorting around INR 50 00000 in the entire
district.
-
March 31: 18 cadres
belonging to various outfits, including 13 from the ULFA, three
from the NDFB and one each from the Khaplang and Isak-Muivah factions
of the NSCN, surrenders before Major General Jatinder Singh, General
Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Mountain Division at Dinjan Military
Station in the Dibrugarh district.
-
March 28: An ULFA cadre,
Partha alias Rakta Kachari, surrenders before the Dibrugarh district
administration and deposited a hand grenade at the time of surrender.
-
March 26: A joint team
of Assam Police and the Army arrested a ULFA militant, Pramulya
Boruah, from Neo Deoghariya village under Tengakhat police station
in the Dibrugarh district. The arrested cadre reportedly is an IED
expert of the outfit.
A businessman, Raju
Jain, is shot dead and his son Narendra Jain sustains injuries when
suspected ULFA militants open fire on them at Mohkhuti under Nimuguri
police station in the Sibasagar district.
One ULFA militant,
Chanchal Dangoria, is arrested during a search operation at Matiakata
area in the Tinsukia district. He was reportedly asked to survey
probable sites for planting improvised explosive devices in the
upper Assam districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh.
-
March 25: One person,
Subhrajit Sonowal, was arrested while he along with two of his accomplices
was trying to extort money, in the name of the ULFA, from one Bhola
Lahon, a school teacher, at Bekadolong under Sonari police station.
Two others, however, managed to escape. One motorbike was recovered
from him.
-
March 23: One ULFA militant, Binoy
Baishya, who was earlier arrested from Sualkuchi in the Kamrup district,
confessed during his interrogation on that a cycle that was recovered
from him was converted into a bomb. Following his confession, a
team of explosive experts tore open the cycle on March 24 and found
that the seat of the cycle can be opened easily and high power explosives
like TNT and TETN were fitted into the hollow pipes of the cycle.
One bomb and a programmable time device were also recovered from
him.
-
March 20: One suspected ULFA militant,
Manindra Rai,, was killed in a gunfight with a team of police and
army personnel at Gouripur in Dhubri district.
-
March 17: One ULFA militant involved
in several bomb blasts in the Tinsukia district was killed in an
encounter with the police at Dirakbokhai village in the Dibrugarh
district. Two other militants, however, escaped.
One suspected ULFA militant, Satyajit
Chetia, was seriously injured when one of the bombs being carried
by him exploded in the Sibsagar district.
-
March 15: SFs killed two militants,
suspected to be either from the ULFA or the NDBF, during an exchange
of fire at Silikhaguri Sapori under Narayanpur police station in
the North Lakhimpur district. An injured militant escaped with his
AK-47 rifle, while a pistol with five rounds of ammunition and a
revolver with four rounds were recovered from the slain militants.
Six hardcore ULFA militants surrendered
and laid down their arms at a formal ceremony at the Kamrup Deputy
Commissioner’s office. The militants were involved in many operations,
including bomb blasts, in and around Guwahati besides recruitment
drives in lower Assam. The militants said that they were getting
increasingly disillusioned with the manner of functioning of the
outfit, especially their top leaders, which made them quit it and
return to the mainstream.
Four persons were killed and more
than 50 others, including some women and children, were injured
in a grenade blast at Jonai in the Dhemaji district. According to
official sources, about 15,000 people gathered in a field near the
Jonai circuit house to celebrate Ali-Aye-Ligang, a festival of the
Mising community, when suspected ULFA militants lobbed a grenade
at the crowd. The deceased were identified as Bina Pegu, Kabita
Sonowal, Sahadhan Ali and Someswar Sutradhar. However, the ULFA
has denied its involvement in the attack.
-
March 13: Army shot
dead a ULFA militant, Rupa Moran, after he lobbed a grenade at the
troops at Hatibandha village under Tengakhat Police Station in the
Dibrugarh district.
-
March 10: Three ULFA
militants were arrested during a search operation at an unspecified
place.
Two ULFA militants,
'sergeant major' Amrit Ballav alias Mizo and 'corporal' Bikram Hazarika
alias Uttam Hazarika, surrendered along with arms and ammunition
before the Golaghat district administration.
-
March 9: An ULFA militant,
Suryamohan Rai, and a linkman, Shafiul Rahman, were arrested by
the security forces from Golokgunj area of Dhubri district along
with a pistol and INR 10,000.
-
March 9: Four Hindi-speaking
people were shot dead by the ULFA militants near Udalguri tea estate
between Chabua and Tengakhat in the Dibrugarh district.
-
March 5: One person
was injured when ULFA militants exploded a bomb near the District
Magistrate's office at Lakhimpur.
-
March 4: Two ULFA militants,
identified as Tapan Baruah alias Arun Baruah and Parikshit Chettry,
were shot dead by the Assam Police during an encounter at Thanubam
village under Barbaruah police station in the Dibrugarh district.
Two pistols, some ammunition, explosives, three cell phones and
some documents were recovered from the encounter site.
-
March 3: Three suspected ULFA linkmen,
Abdus Sattar, Atowar Rahman and Hazrat Ali, were arrested by the
Assam Police during a search operation at Damalkona village in the
Dhubri district. One motorcycle was recovered from the residence
of Abdus who was suspected to have used that for carrying ULFA cadres.
-
February 28: Union Home Secretary,
Madhukar Gupta, said that the Centre is not ready to hold any talks
with the ULFA on the issue of "sovereignty of Asom". Gupta also
said, "The ULFA has to give up violence before holding peace talks
with the Centre, and there will be no mediators in the peace process.
The Government is ready for only direct talks with the ULFA."
-
February 27: One person, identified
as Ajit Ghosh, was killed and 14 others were injured in an IED blast
by suspected ULFA militants at Borgolla Chariali near Tezpur Sadar
police station in the Sonitpur district.
-
February 23: Police arrested a suspected
ULFA linkman, Judhajit Das, from Barpeta.
-
February 21: Suspected ULFA militants
shot dead a school teacher, Pradip Hazarika, at Kakopathar Harumechai
village in the Tinsukia district. They also assaulted his neighbour,
Jiten Changmai, before leaving the place. The same group also killed
one Bhoyen Moran, a resident of the adjoining Bormechai village.
-
February 16: Four ULFA
militants were killed in a joint operation by the Army and police
in the Sibsagar district.
-
February 14: Police
seized a boat that the ULFA had been using to ferry arms and its
cadres to Guwahati city. Police also arrested seven persons including
the boat driver, and seized 10-kgs of RDX from the boat at Goroimari
in the Kamrup district, about 100-km from Guwahati.
-
February 12: A ULFA
militant, Champak Sharma, suspected to have been involved in the
abduction of FCI official P.C. Ram was arrested at Guwahati. Police
also recovered an M20 pistol, ammunition, five kg of RDX and bomb-making
materials from his rented house.
-
February 11: Police
arrested a ULFA linkman, Abhinash Gogoi, from Panichokua area under
Pulibor Police Station in the Jorhat district.
The Commander of the 27th battalion of ULFA, Keshav Hazarika,
Lieutenant Biraj Phukan and sergeant major Kumud Bordoloi, surrendered
along with several others at Dinjan army base. Wife of Keshav Hazarika,
Meenakshi Hazarika, reportedly surrendered in absentia.
-
February 10: Assam
Police foiled a plan of the ULFA to hijack a plane from Guwahati
airport to Pakistan and arrested three persons for their alleged
involvement in the conspiracy. ULFA’s 709th battalion’s Manoj Tamuly
alias Randip Baruah alias Kamal Das alias Haloi alias Pathak and
his fiancee Dharitri Sarma, also an ULFA militant, were arrested
from Panjabari Bagorbori area of Guwahati. During interrogation,
Manoj confessed that the ULFA had planned to hijack a plane from
Borjhar and to take it to Pakistan. Based on his confession, a prominent
advocate, Nekibur Zaman, was also arrested. The house of a human
rights activist, Lachit Bardoloi, was raided while a television
journalist Pradeep Gogoi was arrested from Tinsukia.
-
February 6: Three persons
were arrested by the police on February 6 for allegedly demanding
money from an Oil and Natural Gas Corporation employee by posing
themselves as ULFA militants. The trio, arrested from Geleky area
in the Sivasagar district, was allegedly demanding INR 250000.
-
January 30: A hardcore ULFA militant
and chief instructor of the outfit's 709 battalion, 'sergeant' Bubul
Das alias Himangshu Rava alias Ritu Basumatary, surrendered before
the police in the Baksa district.
-
January 27: Two ULFA
militants and a Captain of the Gorkha Regiment of the Indian Army
were killed in an encounter at Borpathar Rongagora under Doomdooma
Police Station in the Tinsukia District. Acting on a tip-off that
a group of ULFA cadres were taking shelter there, the Army personnel
launched an operation. Captain S. K. Choudhury and two militants,
identified as Tutu Maran alias Pallab Baruah and Jitul Dohutia alias
Chandan, were killed in the gun battle. One AK-56 rifle, two magazines,
more than 100 live bullets, one mobile phone and an IED were recovered
from the incident site.
-
January 25: Two ULFA
militants were killed in an encounter with the army at the Dibru-Saikhowa
reserve forest in Tinsukia. One of the slain militant was identified
as Dhajiya Gogoi.
-
January 24: 38 ULFA militants, including
a woman cadre, surrendered before the security forces at Tamulpur
in the Baksa district. They also deposited 27 pistols, 18 grenades,
22 detonators, 30 kg of explosives and 150 live ammunition of AK-47
assault rifle.
-
January 22: Security
forces shot dead a militant of the ULFA at Raidang village under
Digboi Police Station. A pistol and four live cartridges were recovered
from his possession.
Police arrested three
ULFA linkmen, identified as Kishor Roy, Gautam Barman and Uttam
Baruah, from the Boitamari area of the Bongaigaon district on an
unspecified date allegedly for maintaining links with a top ULFA
militant Pulak Bharali. The linkmen confessed that they were assigned
to trigger violence on or before Republic Day (January 26) in the
district.
-
January 20: Guwahati
city police arrested two hardcore ULFA cadres from Golaghat district
for their alleged involvement in a host of subversive activities
in the city recently. They were identified as, Abhijit Dutta and
Pradeep Kurmi, and reportedly masterminded the car bomb blast at
Pan Bazaar in Guwahati in 2007.
In Tinsukia district,
security forces arrested one ULFA cadre, identified as Lambeswar
Khotowal, from Borhapjan and another cadre, Daman Moran, from Borgaon.
Security forces also recovered one revolver, 16 round of live bullet
and few ULFA extortion notes from the militants.
An ‘area commander’
of the ULFA, identified as Madan Koch, was shot dead by security
personnel when they neutralised a hideout at Katalbari near Garobadha
in the West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya. Two packets of RDX,
a pistol with two magazines and some ammunition were recovered from
the incident site.
Guwahati city police
arrested two hardcore ULFA cadres from Golaghat district for their
alleged involvement in a host of subversive activities in the city
recently. They were identified as, Abhijit Dutta and Pradeep Kurmi,
and reportedly masterminded the car bomb blast at Pan Bazaar in
Guwahati in 2007.
In Tinsukia district,
security forces arrested one ULFA cadre, identified as Lambeswar
Khotowal, from Borhapjan and another cadre, Daman Moran, from Borgaon.
Security forces also recovered one revolver, 16 round of live bullet
and few ULFA extortion notes from the militants.
According to intelligence
reports, the ULFA has managed to sneak in a number of programmable
time device switches into Assam through Bangladesh in the recent
times. Police said that the ULFA has been bringing in weapons and
explosives through Bangladesh by taking advantage of the porous
international border and the 109 battalion of the outfit has been
entrusted with the task of transhipment of weapons. The members
of the battalion are based mainly in Garo hills of Meghalaya and
in Goalpara district for the transhipment of weapons.
-
January 18: A ULFA
cadre, identified as Dilip Kalita, was shot dead in a joint operation
by the Army and police in the Konwarpur area of Sivasagar district.
Three grenades and some improvised explosive devices were recovered
from the spot.
Intelligence reports
have said that a huge consignment of explosives and dozens of small
arms has been transshipped into Assam by the ULFA from Bangladesh
a week back and the consignment has reportedly been received by
ULFA ‘commander’ of lower Assam, Hira Sarania, from the courier
from Bangladesh.
Intelligence reports
mentioned that 40 trained ULFA cadres had already sneaked into the
State from Bangladesh to carry out subversive activities ahead of
the Republic Day (January 26). They could target the public and
crowded places, especially in Guwahati, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
-
January 16: A ULFA
militant was killed in a gunfight with the Army at Kumari Gaon under
Mahadevpur police station in Arunachal Pradesh along the Assam border.
Security forces arrested
a hardcore ULFA militant, identified as Damodar Das of Karmipora
village in the Darrang district. The militant confessed about the
plan of ULFA to plant improvised explosive devices in several places
of the district on the eve of Republic Day (January 26) and of his
involvement in an extortion drive in the district. Security forces
also recovered five crude bombs, three detonators, two mobile phones
and two SIM cards from his possession.
-
January 13: One ULFA
militant, identified as Bitupan Moran, was arrested from Rajgarh
tea estate in the Tinsukia district. One kilogram of explosives,
including six live rounds of AK 56 and 15 rounds of assorted ammunition,
were recovered from him.
At least 17 persons,
including six security force personnel, were injured when suspected
ULFA militants triggered a powerful grenade explosion in front of
the Paltan Bazaar police station near Guwahati railway station.
-
January 12: Four railway
workers were injured when suspected ULFA militants lobbed grenades
on them at Rongsal in the Dibrugarh district.
-
January 11: Police
arrested a ULFA militant, identified as Arjun Deka, in the Baksa
district and seized five French made timer devices.
Security forces arrested
a ULFA militant, identified as Raju Chetri alias Moni Subba, and
a linkman, identified as Diganta Hazarika, near Tingali Bam Tea
Estate under Sonari police station in the Sivasagar district. Some
leaflets of the outfit were recovered from their possession.
-
January 10: Security
forces killed a ULFA militant, identified as Corporal Puwali Dowerah
alias Hiren Dowerah, in an encounter at Ahukhat village under Makum
police station in the Tinsukia district. The security forces also
recovered one .32 pistol, one magazine with two live rounds and
three bicycles at the site of the encounter.
-
January 9: Two militants
of the ULFA, including a woman, surrendered before the police in
Dibrugarh. The surrendered ULFA cadres were identified as Bhaimon
Changmai alias Nabin Dutta and Bina Payeng alias Rimi Bora. They
also deposited a 9 mm pistol along with magazines and six live rounds
of ammunition.
-
January 7: An Assamese
poet, Santanu Sarma, was arrested at Malikuchi in Nalbari town on
charges of writing seditious material for the ULFA and mobilising
opinion against counter-insurgency operations.
-
January 6: One person,
identified as Abdul Rehman Bepari, was injured when a bomb planted
by suspected ULFA militants in his garage exploded at New Iddgah
Colony in Dhubri town.
-
January 5: ULFA ‘sergeant’
Swapna Baruah alias Swapna Moran was killed in an encounter with
the army at Dirak Rongpuri village of Tinsukia district.
Security forces arrested
two ULFA militants, Nikhil Bhuyan and Jadab Saikia, from Naginimora
in the Sivasagar district. An unspecified quantity of RDX, INR 11,000
in cash and incriminating documents were recovered from them.
Seven ULFA and three
NSCN-IM cadres surrendered at an army camp in the Tinsukia district.
They deposited two 9mm pistols, a .22 pistol, a revolver, four grenades
and ammunition of assorted weapons.
-
January 3: One surrendered
ULFA cadre and a Bharatiya Janata Party activist,
identified as Jatin Lahkar, was shot at by two suspected ULFA militants
at Datara under Ghograpar police station in the Nalbari district.
2007
-
December 31: ULFA accused
the Union government of trying to gain political mileage over the
peace talks issue and insisted that a written assurance should be
given to discuss sovereignty to revive the peace process.
Three ULFA militants are killed by security forces in the Dibru
Saikhowa National Park located across Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
One ULFA militant is
shot dead by a joint team of the police and Central Reserve Police
Force at Bhetapara in the Basistha police station area of Guwahati.
-
December 30: One surrendered
ULFA cadre, Bijoy Shankar Hazarika, and his wife, Anita, are shot
dead by the ULFA militants at Khatikuchi under Ghograpar police
station in the Nalbari district.
An encounter between
police personnel and the ULFA militants is reported at Philobari
in the Tinsukia district. Police suspect the outfit was planning
to blow off a bridge over the Dibru.
Two ULFA linkmen, Utpal
Mandal and Brindaban Tudu, are arrested by the Army personnel from
near the Gurufella area under Kachugaon police station in the Kokrajhar
district. Two pistols, seven rounds of ammunition and four magazines
are recovered from their possession.
-
December 29: One militant
of the ULFA [28th battalion ‘C’ company], identified as ‘corporal’
Dhaman Chetia, is killed by security forces at Kulabari village
under Kakapathar police station of Tinsukia district. While another
ULFA cadre, Amjad Chetia, is injured, one more cadre is arrested.
-
December 28: At least
21 residents of Guwahati city are arrested and later remanded to
police custody for playing varied roles in ULFA’s network of subversion.
"We rounded up 25 people in the past two days, of whom 22 were arrested
on specific charges. The 21 people arrested today were remanded
in police custody," an unnamed police officer engaged in the crackdown
said.
-
December 27: An encounter
between army personnel and the ULFA militants occurs in the Dangori
reserve forest area of Tinsukia district. However, the militants
manage to escaped from the incident site.
Four ULFA cadres, Akur
Rabha, Neel Sagar Rabha, Ajen Marak and Uday Ghosh, were arrested
with a huge quantity of arms and ammunition at Balaikhawar and Hatisila
villages near Lakhipur. One AK-81 rifle, three magazines with 65
rounds of ammunition, one 9-mm Italian pistol with five rounds of
ammunition, one crude bomb weighing one kilogram and fake currency
worth INR 4000 were recovered from them.
-
December 25: One ULFA
cadre is killed during an encounter with the Army in Sivasagar district.
-
December 20: Four militants
belonging to the’ 709 battalion’ of the ULFA outfit surrendered
before the Army at Kamalpur in the Kamrup district. While one of
the surrendered militants is a ‘sergeant major’ another is a 17-year-old
cadre who had joined the outfit while he was studying in Class X
standard in Goalpara High School in western Assam. They deposited
one Chinese pistol with two magazines and 20 rounds of live ammunition,
few grenades, four explosive fitted with programmable timer devices
at the time of surrender.
-
December 19: The Tinsukia
District police arrested Nagen Moran, a ULFA cadre and a close associate
of Jiten Dutta, leader of the ‘28 Battalion’ of the ULFA, from Margherita.
During interrogation, Moran confesses before the police that he
was involved in the car bomb blast that occurred at Beng Phukuri
area in Tinsukia on November 25. On the basis of his confession,
police arrested a doctor, Rupai Bora, who owns the Bora Nursing
Home at Doomdooma. Bora allegedly provided medical help to the injured
ULFA cadres and has also visited the militants’ camp at Lathau in
Arunachal Pradesh.
Intelligence sources
stated that the ULFA could strike before the three-phase panchayat
(local self-government) elections, scheduled to be held on December
31, January 4 and 9 in Assam, to prove its existence and use the
disruption as publicity stunts. The commander of the ‘Charlie Company
of the outfit’s 28 Battalion’, Jiten Dutta, recently warned all
Congress Party candidates, especially those who had deserted the
party in the wake of the quit Congress notice issued by the outfit
in February, but had rejoined the party ahead of the panchayat polls
and are contesting the elections — of dire consequences. A five-member
group led by self-styled ‘sergeant major’ from the ‘Alpha Company
of the 28 battalion’, Tete Bezbaruah, is reportedly operating in
the Mohong, Dirak and Pengeri areas of Tinsukia district.
December 15: A surrendered ULFA
militant, identified as Ratul Das, was killed by some unidentified
militants at his residence at Dharam Nala in the Karbi Anglong district.
-
December 13: Two hardcore ULFA cadres,
identified as Dusmanta Nath and Ujin Rabha, surrendered before the
security forces at Dariduri in the Goalpara district.
-
December 9: Police
arrested four ULFA militants from different parts of the Guwahati
city.
-
December 7: One unidentified
ULFA agent, who bailed out militants by providing false documents
to courts, was arrested by the Army from Binoy Gutia village under
Borboree police station in the Dibrugarh district.
-
December 5: Security
forces came under attack from the ULFA when five militants going
along with a marriage party fired at them at Namhulung under Tengeri
police station in the Tinsukia district. Security forces opted not
to retaliate the firing but when they moved towards the marriage
party, the militants fled towards the Doomdooma reserve forest.
Security forces arrested
two ULFA linkmen, identified as Indrajit Moran of Julliard under
Doomdooma police station and Pinku Chetia of Borali Gaon under Kakopathar
police station in the Tinsukia district. Police later released Indrajit
Moran as there was no specific prima-facie evidence against him.
-
December 3: A surrendered
ULFA cadre, identified as Bogadhar Gogoi, was killed by two ULFA
militants on at Bordoibaam village under Tengakhat police station
of Dibrugarh district for allegedly helping the army to track down
ULFA cadres. In retaliation to the killing, a group of masked men
on motorbikes attacked an ULFA leader Madhurjya Gohain’s house in
the same village and damaged some portion of his house and destroyed
some of his belongings.
-
December 2: Six cadres
of the Alpha and Charlie companies of the ULFA’s ‘28 Battalion’
in the Tinsukia district surrendered before the Police and laid
down their arms. They also deposited an AK-56 rifle with two magazines,
a Belgium-made 12 bore pump action gun with seven rounds of ammunition,
a .56 pistol with 14 rounds of ammunition, a .36 high explosive
grenade, 7 kg of TNT and two coils of flexible wire.
Suspected cadres of
the ULFA lobbed a grenade at a garments shop near Kathiatoli in
the Nagaon district injuring the shop owner and his son, besides
another person who was there at the time of the blast.
-
December 30: Guwahati
city police arrested a ULFA cadre, identified as Jitu Barman a.k.a.
Prahlad Barman of Baksa district, from the city’s Ganesh Nagar area
under Basista police station.
-
November 29: Two ULFA
militants, identified as Gautam Das and Tiken Das, surrendered in
a function held at Hajo military camp in Rangiya. They also laid
down a pistol, 10 live cartridges AK-47 rifle.
-
November 26: One ‘Lance
Corporal’ of the 109th battalion of the ULFA, Janardhan Rabha alias
Joseph Rabha, surrendered before the Goalpara police in the Goalpara
district along with one AK-81 rifle, three magazines, one hand grenade
and 90 rounds of bullets.
-
November 25: Two civilians,
including one identified as Shivili Devi, are killed and 14 others
injured when ULFA militants triggered an Improvised Explosive Device
blast at Manik Hazarika Road under Tinsukia town in the Tinsukia
district. Five minutes before the explosion, a grenade was lobbed
by unidentified assailants without causing any causality.
-
One civilian, identified
as Umesh Shah, is killed and three others injured when the ULFA
militants exploded an IED device near a tea stall at Athgaon area
in the Guwahati city. Barely 10 minutes after the blast, another
IED also exploded at the same place without causing any casualty.
-
Suspected ULFA militants
lobbed a grenade at the office of the Sub Divisional Police officer
of Bilashipara sub-division in the Dhubri district. However, no
causality is reported.
-
Police personnel recovered
a powerful IED along with a programmable time device switch from
a house in the Ambikagiri Nagar area in the Guwahati city and arrested
two unidentified ULFA militants.
-
November 23: Army personnel
in a counter insurgency operation shot dead one ‘sergeant major’
of the ULFA, Lambu Moran alias Suren Moran, at Manabhum Reserve
Forest under Dayon police station in the Lohit district. One pistol,
four live rounds of ammunition and six detonators were recovered
from the slain militant. Lambu hailed from Mohong village under
Pengeree police station in the Tinsukia district of Assam.
-
Security forces arrested
one ULFA militant, identified as Mohan Rabha, along with a single-barrel
gun and some fake currency notes from Makri in the Goalpara district.
His confessional statement led to the arrest of one ULFA financier,
identified as Tarun Marak alias Dekson, from Tikrikilla in the West
Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. Dekson is reportedly involved
in carrying a huge amount of money from Bangladesh to Meghalaya
and Assam on behalf of the group.
-
November 22: Seventeen
militants - 15 belonging to the ULFA and two cadres of the DHD and
the KLNLF - surrendered to the Army at Laipuli Army Camp in the
Tinsukia district. The ULFA militants were identified as Kundil
alias Biju, Kalyani Baruah alias Pratima Baruah, Teet Gohain alias
Ratan Tamuli, Mintu Gogoi alias Pratim Dohotia, Pallabi Dihingia
alias Maya, Jyoti Dutta alias Ankita, Bharat Sonowal, Kalshad Rabha
alias Ratul Rabha, Narayan Rabha alias Amit Rabha, Bishnu Rabha,
Moina Moran, Gulab Baruah alias Deep Baruah, Alpana Sonowal alias
Sangita Sonowal, Pankaj Bora alias Dhan Bora and Kukheswar Saikia.
The two cadres of the DHD and KLNLF were identified as Kanak Bora
alias Ladu Baruah and Mujori Phangso alias Rukasen Phangso. The
militants deposited 339 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 30 rounds of
AK-56 ammunition, five grenades, one rifle and one pistol.
-
Police personnel arrested
one ‘sergeant major’ of the ULFA, Porag Bora alias Jyotish Bora,
along with an Assam Jatiyatabadi Yuva Chatra Parishad member, Palash
Dutta, from a Golaghat-Dergaon bound passenger bus on PHCG road
in the Golaghat district. The AJYCP member acted as the ULFA cadre’s
guide.
-
November 21: Police
personnel arrested four persons, Dilu Gogoi, Bhaben Baruah, Pankaj
Sarma and Kuldip Hazarika, for demanding INR 20 lakh as ransom from
a businessman in the name of the ULFA leader, Madhurjya Buragohain,
from Guwahati city in the Kamrup district.
-
An encounter between
the ULFA and Army personnel was reported at Solatiniali under Charaideo
police station in the Sivasagar district. Five ULFA militants engaged
in the encounter fled leaving the driver and the vehicle they were
travelling in. The driver was reportedly arrested.
-
November 19: Eight
militants belonging to the ULFA surrendered before the Army at Tamulpur
in the Baksa district. They also deposited five pistols, 20 rounds
of live ammunition and five grenades before the Army. They were
identified as Akshya Kalita, Gautom Deka, Ranjti Nath, Phulen Das,
Brajen Kalita, Bijoy Kumar, Nirmal Murmu and Pepa Boro.
-
November 18: Suspected
ULFA cadres shot dead three surrendered ULFA leaders, identified
as Srimanta Chetia alias Bijoy Chinese, Prahlad Maran and Kamal
Kandha, at Natun Dallang in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
November 17: Security
forces neutralised one ULFA hideout at Nagapahar area inside Dilli
reserve forest along the Assam-Nagaland border. Eight detonators
concealed in eight packets along with three bags of magazines and
daily requirements were seized from the camp.
-
November 16: Security
forces shot dead one ‘sergeant’ of the ULFA, identified as Raju
Baruah alias Albert Gohain, at Jonai in the Sivasagar district along
the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. However, four other cadres managed
to escape from the incident site.
-
One self-styled ‘sergeant’
of the ULFA, Tulon Deori alias Prakash Deori, was arrested from
a tea stall near Demow in the Sivasagar district. Deori, hailing
from Deorigaon in Nitaipukhuri under Demow police station, had joined
the ULFA in 1995 and trained in Myanmar in 1998. He also went to
Afghanistan in 2002 and was reportedly with the ULFA ‘C-in-C’ from
2001 to 2006.
-
Police personnel engaged
in gun battle with the ULFA militants at Dhuansola area under Majuli
subdivision in the Jorhat district. However, no casualties are reported.
-
November 13: Security
forces shot dead one ULFA militant, Hemo Gogoi alias Chintu Borgohain
of Majuli, at Ajanti Gaon Ghat in the Sivasagar district. Two Chinese
grenades, some detonators and Improvised Explosive Devices were
recovered from the slain militant.
-
A surrendered ULFA
cadre, Uttam Buragohain, is shot at and injured by unidentified
militants at Dihingia village in the Tisukia district.
-
November 12: The ULFA
military spokesman, Raju Baruah, revealed that two ULFA cadres were
killed and seven others are abducted in the Mon district of Nagaland
on November 11 by the NSCN-IM militants. Baruah demanded that the
NSCN-IM release the ULFA cadres within three days.
-
November 11: One ULFA
cadre, identified as Mridul Moran, is killed in an encounter with
the NSCN-IM at a petrol pump in Tizit. One cadre of the NSCN-IM,
identified as, S M Konyak, was also killed during the clashes. Two
civilians were injured in the incident. Sources added that one ULFA
militant was abducted by the NSCN-IM.
-
November 10: One self-styled
‘corporal’ of the 28th battalion of the ULFA, Utpal Bora, is killed
in an encounter with the security forces at Mahadevpur area in the
Lohit district.. One 9-mm pistol and four rounds of ammunition are
recovered from his possession.
-
November 9: A top-ranking
ULFA militant, identified as 'sergeant major' of the outfit’s '109
battalion' Ratul Rabha, is arrested during a joint operation by
the army and police from Oidoba village near the Meghalaya-Assam
border in Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district. Superintendent of
Police JFK Marak told that three kilograms of RDX was recovered
from the militant.
-
November 7: The Army
arrested two ULFA militants, Muzibur Rahman and Mahammed Munna,
from Phalimari under Gauripur police station in the Dhubri district.
Three hand-made pistols and live cartridges are recovered from their
possession.
One Myanmar-trained
ULFA cadre, Anil Payeng, surrendered before the Majuli Sub Division
Police Officer in the Jorhat district. Anil hails from Nalini Mising
Gaon of Majuli.
-
November 6: Security
forces during a search operation recovered a powerful Improvised
Explosive Device (IED) in an ONGC oil pipeline at Mising village
in Suffry under Charaideo subdivision in the Sivasagar district.
The IED, weighing about 7-kg, is timed to blast off at 10 in the
morning.
Another IED is recovered
near the office of the Sivasagar Superintendent of Police. The ULFA
is suspected to have planted the explosives. The explosive is planted
in a bicycle to explode at 12.30 pm in front of the SP’s office.
The SFs later defused the bomb safely.
-
November 5: Security
forces arrested two senior ULFA militants, "second lieutenant" Somdev
Phukon alias Ajit Phukon and his "corporal" wife, Popy Khanikar,
at Bimalapur Charliali under Borhat police station in the Sivasagar
district, when the couple is going to Dibrugarh Medical College
Hospital for the treatment of their son. Sources said that the couple
had arrived in Assam from Myanmar a few weeks ago to replace Sujit
Mohan as the commander of the ULFA’s 28th battalion. Somdev has
joined the ULFA in 1988 and is mostly based in Myanmar. During interrogations
he told that the group had released him for family reasons.
-
November 4: The ULFA
militants killed two civilians, Papu Saikia and Kamal Maran, suspecting
them to be army informers, at Mohang village in the Tinsukia district.
Security forces in
an encounter killed one self styled ‘sergeant’ of the ULFA, Ranjeet
Borah alias Ananta Mech, at Dua Pathar in the same district, reports
Telegraph. One pistol is recovered from the possession of the slain
militant. Sources said that Bora and two other ULFA cadres took
shelter at Dahpathar village under Kakopathar police station. However,
the two other cadres managed to escape.
-
November 2: An assistant
manager of the Orang tea estate in the Udalguri district is abducted
by a joint team of the suspected militants of the ULFA and the ANLA
militants.
-
November 1: 68 militants,
including 66 ULFA and two Adivasi National Liberation Army cadres,
surrendered to the security forces in a surrender ceremony at the
firing range of the 4 Assam police Battalion Headquarters at Kahilipara
in the Guwahati city. The surrendered ULFA cadres comprised four
‘sergeant majors’ and six ‘sergeants’, including Bipul Neog alias
Ujjal Gohain. Four women, including ‘sergeant major’ Tulshi Rabha
alias Malati Santosh, are among the surrendered cadres. Eight AK-56
rifles, five pistols, ten revolvers, a single-shot pistol, 11 No.
36 grenades, 16 Chinese grenades, eight AK-56 magazines, 145 rounds
of AK-series ammunition, 55 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, four rounds
of .22 ammunition, an RT set, three electronic detonators, five
No. 36 grenade detonators, three gelatine sticks, five kg RDX, a
packet of Cordex wire, an RPG cell and five PTD switch are deposited
by the cadres.
-
October 29: Two ULFA
cadres, Nitul Sonowal and Muleswar Sonowal, are killed in an encounter
with the security forces at Rangoli village in the Lohit district.
Both the slain militants hail from the Dibrugarh district in Assam.
-
October 28: One ‘sergeant
major’ of ‘B’ company of the 28th battalion of the ULFA,
Anirban Basu alias Ananta Duarah, is shot dead by the security forces
in an encounter at Mahmora Bhalukonigaon under Kakotibari police
station in the Sivasagar district. One grenade and a 9-mm pistol
are recovered from his possession. Sources revealed that the deceased
is responsible for extortion in the Sonari, Moran and Sivasagar
areas.
-
October 26: Police
personnel arrested one ULFA cadre, Amulya Das, from Fancy Bazzar
area in the Guwahati city. Das had been working at a private business
farm and hails from Bijulighat in the Nalbari district.
-
October 24: An encounter
between the ULFA militants and the troops is reported under Tangeri
police station in the Tinsukia district. Two suspected ULFA cadres
are injured in the encounter. One SLR and two bags containing improvised
explosive device materials are also recovered from the incident
site.
-
October 23: Thirty-one
ULFA militants and two from the KLNLF surrendered along with a huge
cache of arms and explosives at Tamulpur in the Baksa district.
One Thailand-made pistol, two PT 32 pistols, eight rounds of
PT 32 pistol, an AK-56 Rifle, a radio set, ten rounds of AK-56 rifle,
five rounds of 9 mm pistol, ten detonators, 20 metres fuse wire
and four power gel explosives 801 (25 mm X25 mm) are deposited by
the militants.
The ULFA has reportedly
shifted several of its leaders from upper Assam to the outfit’s
hideouts in Myanmar to prevent their surrender. A report indicated
that Amrit Dutta, a key accused in the Sanjoy Ghose murder case,
and Amritballav Goswami, a bomb expert from Golaghat district, are
among those who are being kept in confinement at hideouts in Myanmar.
-
October 22: Two militants
of the ULFA, Socrates Choudhury alias Vishal and Umesh Das, are
arrested by Assam Police during a search operation at Fancy Bazaar
in Guwahati city. They were working under the instruction of Hira
Sarania, ‘commander of ‘709 battalion’ of the ULFA. "The duo used
to identify potential targets for extortion and then serve demand
notes, signed by Hira Sarania. Their targets included businessmen,
professionals such as doctors and engineers, as well as government
officials. The accused have confessed to serving ransom demands
to several persons in the city," an unnamed police officer said.
"Choudhury is suspected to have been involved in some recent bomb
blasts here. He is also being interrogated for identifying the explosives
suspected to have been stockpiled by ULFA in the city," the source
added.
-
October 22: ULFA’s
28th battalion has reportedly served extortion notices
on several businessmen in the Tinsukia district during the Durga
Puja festival with an instruction to pay the amount on or before
the ensuing Deepawali festival. Intelligence sources revealed that
Jiten Dutta, who took over charge of 28th battalion following
surrender of Pranjal Saikia and Ujjal Gohain, has entrusted Dadul
Bora and Luchi Neog of ‘C’ company to collect the amount from the
businessmen before the Deepawali festival.
-
October 19: Security
forces arrested one ULFA cadre of the 28th battalion,
Dhajen Gogoi alias Ranjan Gogoi, from Manbhum Reserve Forest in
the Lohit district.
-
October 18: SFs arrested
two suspected United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants,
Siddi Sarkar and Pradeep Sarkar, from Lohajani village under Golokganj
police station in the Dhubri district on charges of extortion from
a school teacher. An extortion note demanding INR 1 lakh was issued
to a school teacher, Ronjit Bhakat, in the name of the ULFA.
-
October 16: One senior
cadre of the 28th battalion of the ULFA, Pranjal Saikia
alias Hiren Hazarika, surrendered to the security forces at Teju
in the Lohit district. Saikia hails from Doomdooma in the Tinsukia
district of Assam and had joined the outfit in 1990.
One ULFA cadre, Arun
Deka alias Amarendra, surrendered before the Morigaon district administration.
-
October 13: An encounter
between Army personnel aided by a group of surrendered ULFA cadres
and ULFA militants is reported from Mahmora Tiloichuk village under
Charaideo sub-division in the Sivasagar district. The encounter
ensued following information received by the Army that ULFA militants
are camping in the house of one Phani Gogoi. However, the militants
managed to escape from the encounter site.
-
October 8: Security
forces in an encounter killed self-styled ‘sergeant’ of the ULFA,
Rajiv Saikia alias Raheswar Deka Baruah, at Lukili village under
Borhat police station in the Sivasagar district. One AK-56 rifle,
three magazines, a 9-mm pistol, three pistol magazines, a grenade,
three mobile sets and some incriminating documents are recovered
from the incident site. One woman cadre of the outfit, identified
as Mamu alias Satyama Bailung alias Rekha Bailung, was arrested
from the same place.
SFs neutralised three
ULFA hideouts at Dilli reserve forest near Namrup in the Dibrugarh
district. IEDs weighing ten kilograms, several copies of ULFA’s
mouthpiece Freedom, medicines and ration were recovered from
the hideouts.
Suspected ULFA militants
blew up a gas pipeline owned by the Assam Gas Company Limited at
Nampum village under Chabua police station in the same district.
-
October 6: Two ULFA
militants, including one identified as ‘sergeant major’ Lankeswar
Rabha, are shot dead during a counter-insurgency operation at Konakhat
village under Tongla police station in the Udalguri district. Police
said the two militants had taken shelter in the house of a person,
Oben Rabha. Some explosives, a satellite phone, a 9 mm pistol, a
revolver, six rounds of cartridges, four mobile phones, a mobile
charger, letter pads, telephone diaries and cash are recovered from
the slain militants.
-
October 5: One unidentified
ULFA militant is shot dead by Assam Police personnel during an encounter
at Rakshasmari village near Chopai Tea Estate under Dhekiajuli police
station in the Sonitpur district. While another militant manages
to escape, one AK-47 rifle, one 9-mm pistol, two magazines of AK-47
rifle and two hand grenades are recovered from the encounter site.
At least four persons,
including a woman, are wounded when around 10 ULFA militants attack
the residence of Dipak Pal, a Bengali-speaking person, at Leferagaon
in the Sivasagar district.
-
October 4: A grenade
is exploded by the ULFA militants targeting Itachali police outpost
in the Nagaon district. While two vehicles were damaged, no one
is injured in the blast.
Security forces arrested three suspected
militants of the ULFA, Bipul Bora, Prabin Bora, Jyoti Prasad Lahkar,
near Borjuri area under Samaguri police station in the Nagaon district.
One KLNLF militant, identified as Budheswar Ingti, was also arrested
from the same location.
-
October 2: The ULFA
denies a claim made by B. S. Jaiswal, General Officer Commanding-in-Charge
of 4 Corps, that the outfit has links with Islamist outfits, including
the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI). In an editorial in its mouthpiece
Freedom, the ULFA accused the Army of launching a false propaganda
"only to confuse the people."
-
October 1: One ULFA
militant, belonging to the outfit’s 28th battalion, is lynched by
a group of irate civilians in the 1 Joraguri village of Golaghat
district. The militant, identified as Mangal Singh, a "sergeant
major" in the battalion’s "B Company", along with
two of his accomplices was trying to intimidate a panchayat
(village level self-government body) member into paying them a huge
amount of ransom. Two accomplices of the killed ULFA militant, identified
as a ULFA conduit Monikanta Sare and a surrendered militant Ganesh
Pegu, are wounded.
Two ULFA linkmen are
arrested by the Army personnel from Jhagrarpar in the Dhubri district.
One pistol and some blank notepads of the outfit are recovered from
them.
Seven ULFA militants,
including a woman cadre, surrender before the Army authorities at
Laipuli in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 30: Two persons
are killed and 25 others injured when an improvised explosive device
(IED) was exploded by the ULFA militants near a restaurant at Doomdooma
town in the Tinsukia district. Additional Director-General of Police
(Law and Order), D.K. Pathak, informed that one the two motorcycle-borne
ULFA militants, carrying the IED, was killed and the other wounded
in the blast.
Four persons were killed
and 21 others wounded in another blast triggered by the ULFA at
Tinsukia town.
One bomb blast is triggered
by suspected ULFA militants causing substantial damage to the pipeline
of a public sector undertaking, Oil India Ltd, at Tengakhat in the
Dibrugarh district. B.C. Sarmah, chairman of the Assam Gas Company
Limited, said the damage will disrupt gas distribution throughout
upper Assam. The pipeline carries crude and natural gas from the
oilfields of Dikom and Tengakhat to Duliajan.
One blast is triggered
by the ULFA targeting another gas pipeline at an unspecified place
under Lankashi police outpost in the Tinsukia district.
A surrendered ULFA
cadre, Dipankar Boruah alias Bhaikon, is shot dead by suspected
ULFA militants at Panikheti in the Jorhat district. He had reportedly
surrendered in Jorhat two years ago.
-
September 27: Two Karbi
Longri National Liberation Front (KLNLF) militants surrender before
the security forces at Golaghat. Prakash Timung a.k.a. Englong Timung
and Moshe Finger a.k.a. Ancbung surrender along with two pistols.
They have later told that the KLNLF had launched operations along
with the ULFA to kill Hindi-speaking people in Karbi Anglong, adding
that more than 20 ULFA militants are co-ordinating with the KLNLF
to unleash violence.
-
September 25: An unidentified
ULFA militant is shot dead by Army personnel during a counter-insurgency
operation at Manabhum reserve forest in the Lohit district of Arunachal
Pradesh. One 7.62 mm self-loading rifle along with 21 rounds of
ammunition is recovered from the slain militant.
-
September 20: One self-styled
‘sergeant major’ of the ULFA’s ‘28th battalion’, identified as Lohit
Duara alias Atul Pachoni, surrenders before the SF personnel at
an unspecified location. Duara, who joined the ULFA in December
1999, was trained in Myanmar. One grenade, one-and-a-half kg of
RDX and some documents were deposited by the cadre. Duara hails
from Ulutoli village in Jalukonibari area of Titabor subdivision
in the Jorhat district.
ULFA has appointed
Bijoy Das alias Bijoy Chinese as the new ‘commanding officer’ of
the 28th battalion after the arrest of self-styled lieutenant Prabal
Neog. Das hails from the Nalbari district and had been holding the
post of ‘joint deputy commander’ of the battalion along with another
senior ULFA leader, Bhaskar Hazarika.
-
September 19: Ranu
Das alias Gita Gogoi, wife of the Myanmar-based ULFA cadre, Dipen
Das, along with her 14-month-old child, is arrested from Naharlagun
in the Papum Pare district of Arunachal Pradesh. Several compact
discs and incriminating documents are recovered from the house in
capital Itanagar, where she was staying. The house was rented by
Purabi, wife of Prabal Neog, who was arrested from Tezpur town in
Assam on September 17.
-
September 17: The ‘commander’
of the 28th battalion of ULFA, Prabal Neog alias Benu Bora alias
Aman Moran and his wife Purabi Neog alias Bonti Lahon, are arrested
from Mission Chariali area under Tezpur town in the Sonitpur district.
Neog was traveling with his wife from Arunachal Pradesh. Neog is
a senior leader of the outfit, who masterminded the recent killings
of the Hindi-speaking people in the Upper Assam districts. He was
also looking after the eastern command of the ULFA. Neog, son of
Haladhar Bora of Makum-Tarajan in the Tinsukia district, joined
the ULFA in 1991. Earlier, he was the ‘vice-president’ of Tinsukia
district committee of the Asom Jatiyatabadi Yuba-Chatra Parishad,
an influential youth organization in the state.
-
September 15: One ‘corporal’
of the ULFA, Amar Tanti, is killed by SFs in an encounter at Pakabam
under Panitola police station in the Tinsukia district. Tanti hurled
two hand grenades at the advancing SFs before he was shot dead.
-
September 13: A person,
Imdad Ul Haque, is arrested by Assam Police from Jalukbari area
in the Guwahati city, for his involvement in extortion in the name
of the ULFA outfit.
-
September 11: The
dead body of an unidentified ULFA cadre of the 28th battalion is
recovered from the Manabhum reserve forest in the Lohit district
of Arunachal Pradesh. Sources indicated that the militant had died
of malaria.
-
September 10: Suspected
ULFA militants shot dead two civilians, Tarun Kundu, a restaurant
owner and Ram Vilas Shah, a trader, at Talap Balibazar under Talap
Outpost of Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia district.
Security forces arrested
one woman ULFA cadre, Momi Kochari alias Juri Sonowal, from Tiphung
Ghat under Duliajan police station in the Dibrugarh district. Juri
was associated with the ULFA for the last six years. One mobile
phone and a pistol were recovered from her possession. Another woman
ULFA cadre, identified as Momi Gogoi, was arrested from the Kakopathar
area in Tinsukia district. Reports revealed that Momi joined ULFA
two years ago and received arms training at Manabhum Reserve Forest
in the State of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
September 9: Police
personnel arrested two persons, Niru Jain and Anil Jain, from the
Fancy Bazaar area in Guwahati for serving an extortion note to the
Barpeta Zila Parishad (local government) official, Zakir
Hussain, on behalf of the ULFA’s ‘709 Battalion commander’ Hira
Sarania.
-
September 8: Six ULFA
militants surrendered at the Tamulpur Army camp in the Baska district
along with a cache of arms, ammunition and explosives. They included
a female cadre, Jainali Das, who had undergone training in Bhutan
in 1999 and had been active in Barpeta, Nalbari, Goalpara and Guwahati,
under the command of top ULFA leader Hira Sarania.
-
September 6: Fourteen
cadres belonging to the 28th and 709th battalions
of the ULFA surrendered before the Inspector General of Police in
Guwahati. They were identified as Dilip Kumar Sarmah - ‘second lieutenant’
of 709th battalion, Robin Bejboruah and Lakshadhar Kalita
- ‘sergeant major’ of 709th battalion, Manish Gogoi and
Syamata Gogoi ‘corporal’ of 28th battalion, Dulal Bora,
Rupam Gogoi, Chintu Gogoi, Anil Gogoi, Subhash Bora, Tapa Bora and
Mitul Sandique of the 28th battallion, Jayanta Roy and
Rajani Kalita of 709th battalion. One AK 47 rifle, three
9-mm pistols, a 0.22 rifle, two hand-made revolvers, a factory-made
pistol, five grenades, two IEDs, four kg TNT, two electronic detonators,
four non-electronic detonators, 18 rounds of ammunition of AK-47
rifle, six rounds of ammunition of 9-mm pistol and seven rounds
of ammunition of 0.22 rifle are deposited by them.
Bhagawan Das, a junior
engineer of Paschim Nalbari Development Block, who was abducted
from the Nalbari district on August 25, is released by the ULFA
militants near Pathsala in the Barpeta district.
-
September 5: Kamaleswar
Das and his accomplice Joon Jyoti Sarma, the ULFA cadres who are
allegedly involved in the Guwahati blast of September 1, confessed
to having kept the LPG cylinder in the vehicle in which the bomb
was strapped.
Kamaleswar Das, who
is involved in the September 1 bomb blast triggered by the ULFA
at Bamunimaidam in Guwahati city, is arrested from Kumarikata in
the Nalbari district. The report added that his accomplice, Joon
Jyoti Sarma, surrendered at Dispur police station. Both of them
confessed of planting the bomb in a vehicle with the help of an
ULFA militant, Dhiren Das, who operates under two other militants,
Dipak Das and Bhaiti. Dhiren is a cadre of the 709 Battalion of
the ULFA. Police discovered during the investigation that the operation
was masterminded by another ULFA militant, Akash Thapa alias Saranga
Patowary.
-
September 3: Guwahati police reportedly
identified one Kamaneshwar Das as the main culprit of the ULFA-triggered
Bamunimaidam bomb blast of September 1 in the Guwahati city. Das
had hired the three-wheeler that is used in the blast around 15
days before and fitted it with the bomb at an unspecified location
in the Nalbari district.
-
September 2: Police personnel arrested
three persons, Champak Barman, Biswajeet Deka and Bhagawan Barman,
from the Guwahati city in connection with the ULFA-triggered Bamunimaidam
bomb blast on September 1. Bhagawan Barman is the owner of the van
in which the IED was planted while the other two are his associates.
-
September 1: One person is killed
and 20 others sustained injuries in a suspected ULFA-triggered explosion
in the Bamunimaidan locality in Guwahati. The victim was identified
as Ramlal Das, a cobbler from Begusarai district in Bihar. Police
said a bomb kept in a three-wheeler went off at 11.45 am at the
Railway Colony market of Bamunimaidan, a busy commercial area, leading
to the explosion of three gas cylinders in the shops nearby.
Four suspected ULFA militants are
arrested from a bus, plying from Simlaguri in Barpeta district to
Guwahati, near Rangia along with three IEDs.
SFs arrested seven persons from
several places in the Tinsukia district for having links with the
ULFA. SFs recovered five kilograms of RDX from the residence of
one of them.
SFs arrested one ULFA militant,
Atul Rai alias Satyajit Barman, along with one hand grenade, two
detonators and some fuse wires from Panchapur Rabhapara area under
Bongaigaon police station in the Bongaigaon district.
-
August 31: SFs, acting on specific
information about a likely weapons deal between the Manipur-based
KRA and the ULFA at Laharijan under Bokajan police station of the
Karbi Anglong district, arrested four militants on the National
Highway-39. They were identified as Babul Baruah alias Prakash Baruah
alias Kokai, a self-styled sergeant of ULFA’s 27th battalion,
Lung Min Thang, a cadre of KRA, Mannar Khan, an arms dealer and
Abu Shama Ali. The Army recovered a 7.65 mm pistol with a magazine
filled with four live rounds from their possession.
-
August 30: SFs in an encounter at
Motir Patti village under Gauripur police station in the Dhubri
district killed Tapan Rai, a bomb expert of the ULFA. Rai is reportedly
involved in several bomb blasts in the Guwahati city. One 9-mm pistol,
four live cartridges and six empty cartridges are recovered from
the incident site. However, some other ULFA cadres managed to escape
from the incident site.
SFs arrested two ULFA cadres, Kishor
Roy and Uttam Chaudhury, from their houses at Abhayapuri in the
Bongaigaon district.
-
August 28: One ‘commander’ of the
709 battalion of the ULFA, Champak Sarma alias Ranjan, was killed
by SFs in an encounter at Boragog village in the Kamrup district.
While one SF personnel was wounded during the exchange of fire,
one militant managed to escape from the incident site. A villager,
Rupeshwar Deka, along with his family members was arrested for giving
shelter to Ranjan and one of his accomplices in their residence.
An AK-56 rifle, two grenades, two magazines, two mobile handsets,
37 live bullets, INR 4500 and extortion pads signed by Heera Sarania,
‘commandant’ of the 709 battalion of the ULFA, are recovered from
the encounter site. Ranjan is reportedly involved in the April 17-abduction
of P.C. Ram, the Director of the Food Corporation of India’s Northeast
office, from Guwahati.
-
August 27: Two ULFA cadres, Chandra
Deuri alias Deep and Bipul Sarania alias Pritam, are arrested during
a search operation at Dakshin Birikhana area under Sarbhong police
station in the Barpeta district. Arms and explosives, including
one Chinese-make grenade, an Italian 9-mm pistol, two programmable
devices, three detonators, a tape recorder and eight rounds of ammunition,
are recovered from them.
Five ULFA cadres surrendered at
the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Golaghat district. They
were identified as Manab Gogoi alias Putul Daimary, Bhogeswar Bora
alias Debojit Bora alias Bhaiti, Rituparna Bora alias Abhinabha
Saikia, Nipun Sonowal alias Pankaj Bora and Naren Kachari alias
Narsen Rongpi.
-
August 25: Six suspected ULFA linkmen
are arrested by SF personnel from Lahowal in the Dibrugarh district.
Another ULFA linkman, Rinku Das, is arrested from Disangmukh village
in the Sivsagar district. He was involved in a bomb blast, and confessed
to be in direct communication with militant Ankur Shyam, belonging
to the 'B company' of the ULFA's '28th battalion'. A grenade and
some documents indicating his involvement in the blast in Sivsagar
town in the first week of August 2007 are recovered from Das.
-
August 24: A self-styled 'corporal'
of the 28 Battalion of ULFA, identified as Sunil Gogoi alias Gomen
Moran alias Lombu, surrenders at the Army headquarters in the Dibrugarh
district.
-
August 23: An unidentified ULFA
militant is killed at Chagolia Part-II village under Golokganj police
station in the Dhubri district. One villager, Prasanna Roy, is also
injured in the encounter. An AK-56 rifle and some documents relating
to the outfit are recovered from possession of the slain militant.
-
August 23: Police confirm that a
group of eight ULFA militants, including two women cadres, led by
Randhir Rava and Akash Thapa, had entered the Dhubri district prior
to Independence Day and were last reported to be moving in the area.
-
August 21: Addressing the media
in New Delhi, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said that the ULFA
has set up camps in Meghalaya along the India -Bangladesh border.
According to him: "The ULFA extremists often commit crime in Asom
and slip over to Meghalaya or Bangladesh… Meghalaya is used as a
safe passage or corridor by the rebels… What is now needed is a
coordinated approach of all the NE state governments to take on
the ultras while keeping the door open for the talks."
-
August 20: Two motorcycle-borne
ULFA militants hurl a grenade in front of a commercial building
at Moran town in the Sivasagar district. No casualty was reported.
-
August 20: A ULFA militant, Ananta
Gogoi, is assaulted by local people of Chakma Basti near Chowkham
in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. Three militants reportedly
demanded a ransom of INR 10 lakh from a shopkeeper at Chakma Basti
at gunpoint. The shopkeeper informed the villagers who reportedly
assaulted him and later handed him over to the police. Gogoi joined
the ULFA outfit in 2005 and was trained in Myanmar.
-
August 14: Police personnel arrest
Kailash Sarmah, a ULFA "negotiator" alleged to have settled several
deals between businessmen and the ULFA, from Shantipur under Bharalumukh
police station in the Guwahati city. An unnamed police official
said that Sarmah has reportedly settled several deals on behalf
of the ULFA in and around the Guwahati city in the past few years.
"He is a negotiator. If ULFA demands Rs 100, he settles it, for
say, Rs 75," added the police official.
-
August 14: The Deputy Inspector
General (Central Range) of Assam Police, L.R. Bishnoi, said, "The
proscribed ULFA is providing logistic support, mainly in the form
of providing arms and ammunition, to the Karbi Longri North Cachar
Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF) in carrying out the recent orgy of
violence which has seen more than 30 Hindi-speaking people gunned
down by the Karbi militant outfit." He disclosed that the ULFA had
set up two base camps at Shingasan range and Deopani hill and a
transit camp at Samelangso in the Karbi Anglong district. A 100-member
group of the ULFA is providing support to the KLNLF, he added.
-
August 14: Police personnel recover
three Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) from two separate places
near Mangaldai in the Darrang district. Police raided the house
of a civilian, Abdul Kadir, of Niz Kharupatea under Dhula police
station and recovered two IEDs weighing about four kilogram each
concealed in a bag. Police sources reveal that four suspected ULFA
cadres, including a woman, had come to his residence and kept the
explosives with the intention of exploding it in the adjacent Army
camp.
-
August 14: The BSF during a meeting
with the BDR authorities refutes claims by the latter that militant
outfits have no bases in the Sylhet division. Commander of the BDR’s
Sylhet division, Col. Abul Hossain, claimed that not a single militant
camp of the outfits operating in India’s northeast existed in the
Sylhet division. Sources from the BSF as well as an intelligence
agency in the Cachar district said that as many as 25 training camps
were still in existence in the area, with the full knowledge of
the authorities in Bangladesh. Outfits operating the camps are the
ULFA, the HNLC and the NLFT-Biswamohan Debbarma. ULFA has six such
training camps at Rajghat and Ramnagar Tetultala in the Moulvi Bazaar
district, Nushirapunji and Islampur in Sylhet district and Jagadishpur
and Saidpur in Habiganj district.
-
August 13: Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi, in a Unified Command Structure meeting held at Guwahati,
asked the security forces to dismantle all camps of the ULFA and
KLNLF from Karbi Anglong district to put an end to the current killings
of the Hindi-speaking people.
-
August 11: Two more
civilians succumbed to their injuries raising the death toll to
14 in the ULFA and KLNLF-joint attack at Rongteron village under
the Bokajan Police Station on August 10.
Suspected ULFA militants
hurled a hand grenade targeting security forces at Borhat under
Charaideo subdivision in the Sivasagar district. However no causalities
are reported.
-
August 10: A group
of 10-15 suspected ULFA and KLNLF militants attacked a village at
Dolamara in the Karbi Anglong district and shot dead 11 Hindi-speaking
migrant workers. The dead include four women and two children belonging
to two families originally hailing from the State of Bihar.
Assam Police shot dead
one ULFA militant, Jiten Sarania of Baska district, in an encounter
at Hengerabari in the Guwahati city. However, two of his associates
managed to escape in an injured condition. An unexploded grenade
is recovered from the incident site.
ULFA ‘Sergent Major’
Kumud Bora, who is killed in an encounter with the Army at Bordubi
Tea Estate in the Tinsukia district on August 9, is involved in
extortion activities. Army sources said that Bora collected INR
6 million as extortion money from the Duliajan, Kakojan, Tengagaon,
Rupai, Makum and Pengri areas of Tinsukia district.
-
August 9: A group of
suspected ULFA militants shot dead one surrendered ULFA cadre, Pranab
Moran, at Jutulbari village under Doomdooma police station in the
Tinsukia district.
Security forces killed
one ULFA cadre, Kumud Borah alias Jaykanta Moran alias Gondhia,
at Bordubi Tea Estate under Doomdooma Police station in the Tinsukia
district.
Police arrested Anirudha
Nath, the main accused in the August 5 Agia bomb blast, from an
unspecified location. Anirudha claimed that three ULFA militants
had forced him to plant the bomb threatening to attack him and his
family if he disobeyed.
August 8: Nine civilians,
including four women and three children, were killed and five others
injured when a group of ULFA and KLNLF militants opened indiscriminate
fire targeting the Hindi-speaking people at Ampahar Basti village
under Howraghat police station in the Karbi Anglong district.
Two civilians are wounded
when suspected ULFA militants triggered an explosion at Anandapur
Tiniali under Dispur police station in the Guwahati city.
One civilian, Pranab
Moran, is injured when suspected ULFA militants fired four rounds
on him at his residence-cum-shop in Kheroni village under Doomdooma
police station in the Tinsukia district.
-
August 7: Three civilians,
Ajit Bora, Debo Bora and Pranjal Gogoi, are killed and eight others
injured, when ULFA militants triggered an explosion in front of
the Jorhat police station in the Jorhat district.
A bomb planted by the
ULFA militants in a dust bin near Kamrupa Hotel at Ganeshguri Chariali
in the Guwahati city exploded injuring two civilians.
-
August 6: Police personnel
arrested one ULFA activist, Bhupen Rajkonowar, from Paltan Bazaar
in the Guwahati city. Earlier the police had recovered 15-kg TNT
explosive from his parent’s residence at Tingkhong in the Dibrugarh
district.
-
August 5: Eleven civilians
were injured in a ULFA-triggered improvise explosive device blast
near Sonari police station in the Sivasagar district. The bomb was
kept in between gunny bags containing wheat and potatoes in a handcart.
Police arrested the owner of the handcart, Mohammed Kalam Miya of
Bihar, and Mohammed Ikramul Ansari, the shopkeeper from where the
wheat and potato bags are purchased by the suspected militants.
Four civilians were
injured in an explosion that occurred in front of the Assam State
Trading Corporation bus depot in the same district.
Three civilians were
injured in another bomb blast at Agiapara evening market in the
Goalpara district.
-
August 3: A group of
suspected ULFA and KLNLF militants shot dead one civilian, Shatrughan
Pandey, at Dergaon market under Howraghat Police Station in the
Karbi Anglong district.
Police personnel arrested
three ULFA militants, Dibyajyoti Boruah, Mano Medhi and Utpal Rajbongshi
from Bharalumukh and Dispur areas in the Guwahati city. 25 detonators,
four packets of liquid explosive gel, two bundles of fuse wire and
some extortion letters were recovered from their possession. The
four packets of semi-liquid colourless substance with the tell-tale
label "Power Gel 801 Explosive" have led police to surmise
that ULFA has added nitroglycerin, a high-energy explosive similar
to the one used in the 7/7 blasts in London, to its terror arsenal.
-
August 2: The security
forces arrested one ULFA militant, identified as Babul Rabha, from
Thamna in the Nalbari district along with one hand grenade.
-
July 31: Police arrested
one ULFA militant, Joiram Rabha, at Tarun Ram Phukan Road in the
Guwahati city.
Army personnel arrested
ULFA cadre Arjun alias Ananta Moran from Dighalshaku village under
Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia district.
-
July 30: SFs, during a search operation
in two remote villages under Tingkhong police station in the Dibrugarh
district, recovered 25-kg of explosives. The Dibrugarh Additional
Superintendent of Police, Ashim Swargiary, said that 12 kgs of explosives
were recovered from the house of one civilian, identified as Phulo
Gogoi, in the Sishumara Borkulpari village and another 13 kgs from
a house in the Nosandang Kunwarchuk village. The police arrested
four unidentified persons, including a 15-year-old girl, who allegedly
has a relationship with a hardcore United Liberation Front of Asom
(ULFA) cadre of the 28th battalion. The explosives, brought
by another hardcore ULFA cadre of the outfit's 28th battalion,
Amar Tanti, was to be used to disrupt Independence Day celebrations
in Parade Ground and also as car-bombs to trigger off a series of
blasts in the Upper Assam districts.
SFs recovered 1,475 detonators and
67 bundles of fuse wires from a jungle near Sipajhar in the Darrang
district. The recovery was based on information from an arrested
ULFA associate, Munindra Saikia, by the SFs on July 28.
The ‘709 battalion’ of the ULFA,
under the command of Heera Sarania, is operating in several vital
areas of lower Assam, including Guwahati city. The City police after
arresting and interrogating four ULFA cadres of the 709 battalion
revealed that they had received arms training in Naokata and Goreswar
in the Kamrup district and are asked to carry out subversive activities
as well as extortion drive in Guwahati.
-
July 29: Police arrested two ULFA
militants, Mrinal Kalita and Dhireswar Deka, from Tulsibari area
under Rangia police station in the Kamrup district.
-
July 27: Two ULFA militants, Ridumsa
Mushahary alias Siphung and Uday Das, were arrested by from Garobasti
under Dispur police station in the Guwahati city. Three bombs with
cordex wire, one PTED switch, two detonators and a mobile phone
were recovered from their possession.
SFs arrested one ULFA cadre, identified
as Diganta Kalita, from Nizjhara in the Baksa district along with
two hand grenades.
-
July 25: The Dibrugarh district
police arrested one ULFA militant, Bitupon Moran, from Khalihamari
Red Cross Road in Dibrugarh. Moran is a resident of Hebeta Gaon
under Makum police station and was reportedly carrying an improvised
explosive device to trigger a blast at Chowkidinghee playground
on the eve of Independence Day celebrations.
Intelligence sources are reported
to have indicated that the ULFA has slapped extortion notices to
some officials, traders and other individuals in the Dhubri district
recently. The Executive Engineer of District Rural Development Agency
has received one such notice, asking him to contribute a sum of
INR 1000000 to the outfit immediately. The notice was signed by
Hira Sarania, the commander of the 709 battalion of the ULFA.
According to the Union Ministry
of Home Affairs (MHA) sources, the ULFA ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Paresh
Baruah last week reportedly met members of its armed wing and decided
to intensify its offensive from July 27- the ‘martyrs’ day’ of the
group - to August 15. The targets, according to the MHA sources,
are the Marwari (the trading community) businessmen, army, police
and paramilitary personnel, central government agencies and their
employees. Baruah assigned the 27, 28, 709 and 109 battalions of
the group to carry out the offensive with the tag that the common
people should fall victims to the armed hostilities, sources added.
-
July 22: SFs arrested one unidentified
ULFA cadre from the weekly market at Barama in the Nalbari district
and recovered three grenades from his possession.
-
July 21: One unidentified ULFA militant
is killed in an encounter with the SFs at Chaygaon area in the Kamrup
district. One AK-47 rifle, two grenades, three magazines and some
explosives are recovered from his possession.
SFs neutralized one ULFA hideout
inside the Abhaypur reserve forest of Sivasagar district. One universal
machine gun (UMG), a carbine, three .303 rifles, a 12-bore gun,
a 5-bore gun, a G3 rifle, a pistol, four grenade launchers, four
improvised explosive devices, 121 rounds of UMG ammunition, 158
rounds of 12 bore gun and 32 rounds of G3 ammunition are recovered
from the hideout.
-
July 20: Five civilians, including
a four-year-old child, are killed and 18 others injured when suspected
ULFA and KLO militants triggered a powerful bomb at Srirampur Chariali
under Tamarhat police station in the Kokrajhar district. Four of
the deceased were identified as Munna Shah, Abdul Mazid, Munmun
Sheikh and Mangal Sheikh.
The army arrested one woman, Ruzupi
Borah, from Watai village under Pengeri Police Station in the Tinsukia
district for her alleged link with the ULFA.
-
July 19: Two cadres of the 28th
battalion of the ULFA, Polash Rajbonshi and Bhaskar Barua, are killed
by SFs at Kailashpur Simaluguri village under Pengeri police station
in the Tinsukia district. One AK 56 rifle, four magazines and some
ammunition were recovered from their possession.
SFs arrested two ULFA linkmen, Kamal
Singh and Durgeswar Moran, along with two kilograms of explosives,
fake currency of INR 500 denomination and two vehicles from an unspecified
place in Tinsukia district. Sources said that the militants were
planning to carry out subversive activities on the outfit’s ‘martyr’s
day’ on July 27.
-
July 13: Two ULFA cadres, including
the bodyguard of ULFA’s ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Paresh Barua, surrendered
at Gillapukhuri Army camp in the Tinsukia district along with one
pistol, two magazines, two grenades, four detonators, explosive
and ammunition of AK-47. They are identified as Babul Chetia alias
Bijoy Singh and Biju Gogoi alias Rupantar Gogoi, who are trained
in Myanmar.
-
July 12: The abducted FCI official,
P. C. Ram, is killed after being caught in an encounter between
the SFs and a group of ULFA militants at Borka-Panitema village
in the Kamrup district. The slain militants are identified as Rahul
Deka alias Montu Gogoi alias Gautam Sarania, a ‘Sergeant Major’
of the ULFA’s 28th battalion hailing from Nalbari district,
and Bullet Sangma of Naokata under Goreswar town. Police seized
two AK-56 rifles, a pistol, a grenade, an improvised explosive device
and a huge amount of ammunition from the slain militants.
SFs arrested three persons, including
Shyamal Sarma, the secretary of the Darrang district unit of Manab
Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS), from Morajan under Rangiya town.
Police also recovered five kilograms of RDX, eight grenades and
eight programmable time device switches from them. They are arrested
while ferrying the arms smuggled from Bangladesh meant to be used
by the ULFA. Police said that Sarma’s arrest has depicted the involvement
of MASS and other organizations - like the People’s Committee for
Peace Initiatives in Assam and the Asom Chatra Yuva Organisation
- of having links with ULFA.
Assam police recovered the dead
body of a ULFA linkman, identified as Umesh Rajbongshi, from Dora
Kohara area under Kamalpur police station in the Kamrup district.
He had been hacked to death by some unidentified miscreants and
his body is found dumped near the railway track at Dora Kohara.
Assam Police recovered the dead
body of a ULFA linkman, identified as Umesh Rajbongshi, from Dora
Kohara area under Kamalpur police station in the Kamrup district.
He had been hacked to death by some unidentified miscreants and
his body found dumped near the railway track at Dora Kohara.
Police arrested Kamini
Deka, Chitra Deka and Srimati Deka, the daughters of Govinda Deka,
a civilian who sheltered the abducted Food Corporation of India
official P. C. Ram along with two ULFA militants at his home. Ram
and the two militants were killed in crossfire between the police
and ULFA militants in Deka’s home at Borka Panitema village in the
Kamrup district.
-
July 10: Two ULFA militants, including
one identified as Samiran Barman alias Jiban Medhi of Baganpara
village in Baksa district, are killed in an encounter with the SFs
at Thankuchi village under Ghograpar Police Station in the Nalbari
district. One AK-56 Rifle with 51 live ammunition and two magazines,
one 9-mm revolver with six rounds of live ammunition and one magazine,
three Chinese hand-grenades, 15 empty cartridges of AK-56 rifle,
INR 5,000 in cash and a mobile phone handset are recovered from
the slain militants.
-
July 9: Army arrested Hemanto Sonowal,
an ULFA linkman, from Talap area in the Tinsukia district.
-
July 8: One ULFA cadre, identified
as Pradeep Gogoi, is arrested from Pengree in the Tinsukia district
along with a country-made pistol, reports Sentinel. Sources
said that he was involved in the killing of a school teacher, Rohini
Gogoi, on May 24.
-
July 7: Suspected ULFA cadres abducted
the owner of a grocery shop, identified as Phuleswar Moran, from
his residence at Na-Mechekar village under Talap police outpost
in the Tinsukia district and subsequently shot him dead. The bullet-riddled
dead body of the victim is recovered from the Nameseka reserve forest.
Police arrested one ULFA cadre,
identified as Indra Gogoi, from Laipuli area in the Tinsukia district.
One motorcycle and several SIM cards are seized from his possession.
Sources said that he was trained in Myanmar and had sneaked into
upper Assam with the intention of carrying out blasts.
Based on Indra Gogoi’s information,
police also arrested Bishwajeet Konwar, a suspected linkman of the
ULFA, along with a pressure cooker, kept to be supplied to the militants
to plant bomb.
-
July 6: The SFs defused an IED,
suspected to have been planted by the ULFA at Prakash Bazaar area
under Tinsukia town in the Tinsukia district. Police arrested two
persons in this connection.
One ULFA cadre, Jayanta Deka alias
Ajai Deka, surrendered to the SFs in a surrender ceremony in the
Barpeta district. Deka had reportedly joined the outfit in 2001.
-
July 3: Police arrested a ULFA militant,
identified as Amrit Ranjan Dutta alias Mrityunjay Mahanta, from
Charigaon area in the Jorhat district along with two bombs, weighing
one kilogram each. Sources revealed that he was trained in Myanmar.
-
July 1: Police arrested two ULFA
cadres, Mrigen Das and Naba Deka, suspected to be involved in the
June 23-Machkhowa bomb blast, from an unspecified location in the
Guwahati city on July 1.
Elsewhere in the Guwahati city,
police arrested two suspected ULFA linkmen, identified as Majid
Rahman and Tajkia Rahman.
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June 30: Four persons are killed
and at least 40 others injured in four blasts – three in upper Assam’s
Tinsukia district and one in central Assam’s Karbi Anglong district.
The ULFA is suspected to have carried out these blasts. Three persons
are killed in two successive blasts at a fish market and a textile
market in the Tinsukia town. 12 persons are injured in another blast
that occurred, almost simultaneously, in front of a cinema hall
at Doomdooma town.
The dead body of P. C. Ram, the
Executive Director (North East) of the FCI, is found buried near
the Mora-Pagladiya River in the Anandapur area under Borbori police
station in the Baksa district. He is abducted by the United Liberation
Front of Asom (ULFA) from Guwahati city on April 17.
-
June 29: SFs arrested five hardcore
ULFA militants and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition
from Murkuchiapara village in the Baksa district. They were identified
as Monu Das alias Jitu, an IED expert, Madan Rajbongshi, Pankaj
Rajbongshi alias Bipul, Pradeep Barman and Harmohan Saud alias Bikash.
Two foreign made pistols, one revolver, 12 rounds of pistol ammunition,
32 rounds of ammunition of AK-47 rifles, seven kilograms of explosives,
four detonators, three Chinese-make grenades, four PTD and some
discriminating documents are seized from their possession.
The Army arrested Biren Bokolial,
the Vice-President of Tingkhong Youth Congress, from his Bogasat
resident in the Dibrugarh district for his alleged links with the
ULFA. Biren has reportedly confessed to his active involvement in
helping the ULFA in collecting extortion money from Rajgarh-Tingkhong
area in the same district.
-
June 26: A journalist, identified
as Chandan Phukan, surrendered to the police following media reports
about his involvement with the ULFA.
-
June 25: Police sources confirmed
that the explosive used by the suspected ULFA militants in the Guwahati
blast on June 23 has been identified as a TNT device. An unnamed
senior police officer said, "This finding has further strengthened
our suspicions that ULFA is behind the explosion as the rebel outfit
has used TNT in almost all the explosions it has carried out in
the recent past." However, the ULFA spokesman and deputy commander-in-chief
Raju Baruah has denied the outfit’s involvement in the explosion.
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June 23: Six persons, including
three children, are killed and 14 others injured when suspected
ULFA militants triggered an explosion in front of a mosque at Machkhowa
in the Guwahati city. Five of the victims were identified as Rafique
Ahmed and his 10-year-old son Safique, Hasan Ali (17), Sanjib Ali
and Hanufa Khatun (3). Acting Director-General of Police, R.N. Mathur,
told the media that the blast was caused by an IED. Additional Superintendent
of Police (City) Rajen Singh told The Hindu that the modus
operandi indicated the hand of the ULFA. Meanwhile, denying it’s
involvement in the blast ULFA spokesman ‘Maj’ Raju Barua claimed,
"The ULFA wants to make it clear that it has never been involved
in killing innocent people and it is only a conspiracy hatched by
vested interests to malign the outfit’s name."
Police arrested four businessmen,
Pradip Kumar Khandelia, Manik Chand Kedia, Radheshyam Sharma and
Bikash Agarwalla, for their suspected links with the ULFA in the
Sivasagar district.
-
June 20: A group of top surrendered
ULFA cadres asked the ULFA not to target its activists and warned
them that they would compelled to take ‘appropriate position’ if
they indulge in violence against them. The surrendered-ULFA men
also asked the Government to provide adequate safety to them.
Robin Dhekial Phukan, a local correspondent
of the vernacular daily Asomiya Pratidin, and Lalan Moran,
Assistant General Secretary of the Assam Students and Youth Forum,
are arrested by the Assam Police from the Tinsukia district on charges
of maintaining close links and working on behalf of the ULFA. The
police alleged that both are involved in supplying mobile SIM cards
to ULFA cadres operating in the eastern Assam districts. Police
also alleged that Rabin was working in the garb of a journalist
and was instrumental in facilitating the last ‘Raising Day’ function
of the ULFA at Manabhum Forest in Arunachal Pradesh.
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June 19: Two CRPF personnel are
killed and five other security force personnel injured in an ambush
by suspected cadres of the ULFA and the KLNLF at Samelangshu area
under Howraghat police station in the Karbi Anglong district. The
militants ambushed the joint patrol of police and CRPF team led
by the Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police.
SFs arrested two militants of ULFA’s
27 battalion, Joni Pathak alias Tilak Boro and Krishna Borah, from
the Nagaon district and claimed to have neutralized a plan to disrupt
the Asian Grand Prix Games, which is scheduled to commence in Guwahati
on June 23. SFs also seized 1.5 kg of explosives, two detonators
and a battery with a timer from the arrested militants.
-
June 18: Rudra Bora alias Bikram
Bora, ‘second lieutenant’ of the ULFA’s 709 battalion, is killed
in an Army operation at Modai Ghat, near Nao Dihing River in the
Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh. Bora was involved in a
number of sabotage and terrorist activities in Lower Assam along
with the ‘commander’ of the 709 battalion, Heera Sarania.
-
June 16: Suspected ULFA militants
shot dead one SULFA cadre, identified as Rinku Choudhury, near Dispur
in the Guwahati city.
-
June 14: Police arrested three persons,
Madhuram Deka, Kishor Das and Ganesh Thakuria, in connection with
June 13 blast at Hajo in the Kamrup district. Sources said that
Ganesh Thakuria is a relative of the ULFA’s ‘Foreign Secretary’,
Sashadhar Choudhury.
One girl, identified as Jina Changmai,
suspected of having links with the ULFA was arrested by the police
from Raidangiya village under Tingkhong police station in the Dibrugarh
district.
-
June 13: Suspected United Liberation
Front of Asom militants triggered an IED blast at Bullut weekly
market under Hajo police station in the Kamrup district, killing
two civilians and injuring 40 others. One of the deceased was identified
as Sukur Ali. The police arrested three unidentified youths for
their alleged involvement in the blast.
Police personnel shot dead one ULFA
militant, identified as Deepjyoti Kalita alias Paul, at Nabin Nagar
area in the Guwahati city. The militant was reportedly involved
in the series of recent bomb blasts in the city. Police also recovered
two IEDs - each weighing 5-kg, one grenade, four detonators and
two explosive circuits from the slain militant.
One ULFA cadre, identified as Tapan
Rai, managed to escape from an encounter that occurred between troops
and the militant in a rented house at Dhirenpara area in the Guwahati
city. However, police arrested his wife from the incident site.
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June 12: The Union Government has
set three conditions to resume the stalled peace initiative with
the ULFA. These include a direct communication from the outfit's
top leadership indicating their willingness to talk with the government,
the presence of emissaries of the either side in the talks and to
facilitate meetings with the detained leaders in jail along with
a safe passage to sweeten the deal. M. K. Narayanan, the National
Security Advisor, conveyed these conditions to Indira Goswami, the
chief mediator of ULFA. Goswami, leading a delegation of the Nagrik
Shanti Manch Asom, met Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on June
11 to discuss the restarting of peace talks with the ULFA.
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June 9: Security Forces arrested
two senior members of the ULFA, ‘2nd Lt.’ Dibakar Moran alias Robin
Baruah and his wife Barkha Deori alias Meghali, in the Tinsukia
district. Dibakar is a senior member of ULFA’s 28th Battalion joined
the outfit in 1989.
-
June 7: The Army arrests one ULFA
militant, identified as Eman Ali, from Borbori village under Tamarhat
Police station near Assam-Bengal border area in the Kokrajhar district
along with 3-kg IED.
-
June 6: The Guwahati city police
formed a four-member Special Investigation Team, under a Deputy
Superintendent of Police, to investigate the abduction of Food Corporation
of India - regional head, P. C. Ram. He was abducted by the ULFA
on April 17.
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June 5: The ULFA’s
28th battalion’s ‘communication officer’, Ghanakanta Bora alias
Kabin Koirala alias Jagdish Phukan, and his wife ‘sergeant major’,
Tulashi Buragohain alias Archana Phukan, surrender to the security
forces at Laipuli Army camp in the Tinsukia district. Bora, one
of the senior-most ULFA members, joined the group in 1986. He was
based in Nepal and had established a camp there to act as an interface
between ULFA and the Maoists. He was also instrumental in establishing
camps for the ULFA in Myanmar, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh's Lohit
and Changlang districts and Assam's Sibsagar district.
Army sources revealed
that the ULFA is setting up bases in Nepal and maintaining close
links with the Maoist insurgents in that country. Sources also said
that after the ‘Operation All Clear’ in Bhutan in 2003, the outfit
has moved to Myanmar but most of the top ULFA leaders are still
based in Bangladesh. Around 150 cadres, including ULFA’s top leader
Sashadhar Choudhury, are currently setting up camps in Nepal in
areas like Sagarmatha, Sitwar, Solkhumbhu and also procured arms
and ammunitions. The outfit has planned to move senior members of
27th battalion, 28th battalion and 709th battalion to Nepal, sources
added.
-
June 4: Intelligence officials revealed
that two top ULFA leaders, Chitrabon Hazarika and Lebu, have entered
Meghalaya from Bangladesh along with two hardcore jihadi militants,
15 days ago. Hazarika is a close associate of the ULFA chief Paresh
Barua. Sources added that both were arrested earlier by the Assam
Police. However they managed to get bail and joined the outfit again.
-
June 1: One ULFA associate, identified
as Lankeshwar Sonowal, is arrested by the Army near Lankasi under
Bordubi police station in the Tinsukia district. Sonowal confessed
to having provided logistic support and helping the outfit in its
extortion drives.
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May 31: Police submitted a report
to the Assam Governor mentioning names of the four affluent businessmen
and some professionals suspected to be ardent sympathisers and helpers
of the ULFA. Official sources said that they are suspected to have
acted as ULFA conduits or 'rendered their services' to the outfit.
The police also found "substantial evidence" of ULFA's link with
the Pakistani external intelligence agency, the ISI and some fundamentalist
organisations.
-
May 29: One civilian, identified
as Hira Taid, is killed in a crossfire between the security forces
and militants belonging to the ULFA at Naharanibari village under
Machkhowa Police Station in the Dhemaji district.
-
May 28: Police sources revealed
that the Pakistani external intelligence agency, the Inter-Services
Intelligence (ISI), has been providing explosives to the ULFA to
carry out subversive activities in public places. Police said that
the explosives used by the ULFA are provided by the ISI and there
are reasons to believe that the militants are triggering off blasts
at the behest of foreign powers. Sources added that at least 20
ULFA militants were trained in Pakistan to handle sophisticated
explosive devices. Seven of them were either killed or arrested.
The ULFA triggered off 32 blasts in different parts of Assam in
2007 while the police managed to recover 66 bombs.
The Union Minister of State for
Home, Sriprakash Jaiswal, said, "There are intelligence reports
that ULFA camps are not only running, but also being nourished in
Bangladesh". He informed that India has asked and continuously
putting pressure on the Bangladesh Government to keep watch and
contain the activities of the ULFA but accused it as "reluctant
or weak to cooperate" with India in taking action against them.
-
May 26: Seven persons are killed
and 18 others injured in an explosion triggered by suspected ULFA
militants in the Athgaon area of Guwahati city. The explosives are
packed in a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw.
Security forces killed two unidentified
ULFA militants in an encounter at Pub Boragaon area under Fatasil
Ambari police station in Guwahati. Two other militants, however,
managed to escape. One grenade, one revolver, three cartridges,
three bundles of fuse wire and two kilograms of explosives are recovered
from the incident site.
The Army defused an improvised explosive
device, recovered from a compartment of the Delhi bound Brahmaputra
Mail at Kokrajhar Railway Station in the Kokrajhar district.
-
May 25: Police sources said that
the ULFA has reportedly threatened villagers of dire consequences
if they do not intensify the agitation against the security forces
for killing ‘innocent civilians’ in upper Assam. The public in districts
of upper Assam have reportedly started raising their voice against
the ULFA due to its continuing strike against innocent civilians.
Assam Police intelligence chief
said that the ULFA is using young boys as its frontline strike force.
The ULFA, under pressure from the counter-insurgency operations,
is reported to have changed its strategy and has started recruiting
young boys aged 14 to 19 - mostly school dropouts.
-
May 24: One suspected ULFA militant,
identified as Budhe Dhadumia, is lynched to death by the public
at Pengeri and his associate was detained at Hulunggutti village
under Kakopathar Police Station in the Tinsukia district after the
two militants shot dead one schoolteacher, identified as Rohini
Gogoi, of the Kailashpur Lowyer Primary School.
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May 22: Dhrubajyoti Lahan alias
Deepak, a ‘Sergeant’ of ‘28 Battalion’ of the ULFA, is killed in
an encounter with the SFs at Singlopathar under Mathurapur police
station in the Sivasagar district.
The ULFA military spokesman, Raju
Baruah, threatenes the SFs of ‘dire consequences’ if it continues
to kill unarmed members of the outfit in ‘fake encounters’. He claimed
that the recent killing of two ULFA militants at Chaygaon in the
Kamrup district on May 18 is not a genuine encounter but a case
of cold-blooded murder.
The SFs destroyed a transit camp
of the Bravo Company of ULFA’s ‘28 battalion’, near the areas bordering
Mon district of Nagaland. One universal machine gun, 130 rounds
of ammunition, one grenade-launching gun, RDX, three coils of cordex,
50 detonators, two radio sets and incriminating documents are recovered
from the incident site.
-
May 21: ULFA militants trigger a
Programmable Timer Device planted on a bi-cycle at Paglasthan in
the Bongaigaon district, injuring 15 people.
-
May 20: Troops defuse
a bomb containing one kilogram of RDX, planted by the suspected
ULFA militants, near Neuville Road in the upper Assam's Jorhat district.
The ULFA is reportedly
carrying out massive extortion drive especially against people belonging
to Hindi-speaking community in various parts of Jorhat, Amguri,
Sonari and Sivasagar through SMS. The name of Ram Singh, commander
of the ‘28 battalion’ of the ULFA, is written at the end of every
SMS.
-
May 18: Police personnel
shot dead two unidentified ULFA militants near Kulsi River in the
Chhaygaon area of Kamrup district. One militant who sustained injuries,
however, managed to escape. One pistol, four Austria-made grenades,
several rounds of live ammunition, one handset, wires and switches
are recovered from their possession.
ULFA militants trigger
an IED planted in a three-wheeler at Fancy Bazaar in the Guwahati
city, injuring 20 people.
Police arrests Bikram
Singh, a top ULFA cadre of the ‘27th battalion’, near Kamalpur area
under Changsari police station in the Kamrup district.
The Army arrests an
ULFA linkman, identified as Apu Neog, at Bordumsa in the Upper Assam’s
Tinsukia district.
-
May 17: ULFA militants
lynched to death a civilian, identified as Hemanta Gogoi, at Nao
Meseki village under Dhola police station in the Tinsukia district
suspecting him to be an Army informer.
-
May 16: The ULFA militants
kills three civilians, identified as Tankeswar Sahu, Dipak Agarwal
and Srinath Agarwal, in the Golaghat district taking the total number
of persons killed since May 14 to nine.
An encounter between
the police and ULFA militants occurred at Borhat near Sonari town
in the Sivasagar district. However, no causalities are reported.
-
May 15: ULFA militants
shot dead six unidentified Hindi-speaking people in various areas
of the Dibrugarh and Sivsagar districts.
-
May 14: ULFA militants trigger a
Percutaneous Thrombolytic Device (PTD), killing two persons and
injuring 11 others near the Athgaon branch of the United Bank of
India in Guwahati city.
-
May 13: Eight civilians are killed
in clashes between tea garden workers and the ULFA-backed protestors
at Tiphuk in the Dibrugarh district. An indefinite curfew is clamped
in the Doomdooma, Talap and Kakopathar areas. The protestors have
been blocking the National Highway 37 since May 7 to protest against
the ‘fake encounter’ killing of one Budheswar Moran by the Army.
The protestors were attacked by angry tea garden labourers as the
continuing blockade has led to a crisis of food stuff in the tea
garden areas.
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May 11: One ULFA linkman, identified
as Pulin Rajkonwar, is arrested by the Police on May 11 along with
five rounds of bullets of .32 pistol from Padumoni village under
Tingkhong police station in the Dibrugarh district.
ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa
demanded the withdrawal of Army from the State. He also appealed
to the people to intensify their agitation for withdrawing the Army
to protect human rights of the people.
The ULFA detonates an explosion
targeting a pipeline of the Assam Gas Company at Borhat in the Sivasagar
district causing serious damage to the pipeline.
An improvised explosive device (IED)
planted by the ULFA is detected by alert public in the Bharalumukh
area in Guwahati City. A box with a green beeping light is found
on the footpath of a road along Bharalu River near railway gate
number nine and subsequently a bomb disposal squad defused the IED.
Police said that six kilograms of TNT explosives, an electronic
detonator, a remote service circuit, a 9-volt battery and several
iron balls mixed with wax are recovered from the spot.
-
May 10: Suspected United Liberation
Front of Assam militants trigger an IED blast in the Sanjeevani
Diagnostic and Medical Centre at Amolapatty in the Sivasagar district
injuring five people.
The police arrest two suspected
ULFA supporters along with some explosives from the Panbazaar area
in the Guwahati city.
-
May 9: Buddheswar Moran, who is
killed by the Army on suspicion of being a ULFA militant at Laopatty
village under Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia district,
is a civilian, confirms the Army.
-
May 7: An unidentified ULFA militant
is killed in an encounter with the Army in the Tinsukia district.
One 9 mm pistol, six rounds of ammunition, an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED), explosives, some detonators, 100 meter electric wire
and documents were recovered from his possession.
Police arrested one ULFA militant,
Nipen Baruah alias Montu, along with a Programmable Time Device
weighing 4-kg from Mathgharia under Noonmati police station in Guwahati.
One hardcore ULFA militant, identified
as Tarini Deka alias Imran, surrendered before the Army at Tamulpur
Brigade along with a .38 revolver and some incriminating documents
in the Nalbari District.
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May 6: A ‘commander’ of the 27th
Battalion of the ULFA, identified as 'lieutenant' Bipul Choudhury,
is killed in an encounter with the Army personnel at Sunpurena in
the Karbi Anglong district. One nine-mm pistol, a magazine, six-round
of live ammunition, an AK-47 magazine and 12 round of ammunition
are recovered from the encounter site. Two of his associates, however,
managed to escape from the incident site.
At least 19 people are injured when
suspected ULFA militants triggered an IED planted on a motorbike
near Hem Baruah Road in the Fancy Bazaar area of Guwahati.
-
May 4: Seven persons are injured
when suspected ULFA militants exploded a time-devise bomb planted
inside a vehicle along Chamber road in the Tinsukia district.
-
May 3: Three ULFA militants are
killed in an encounter with the Army personnel at Barkhajan village
in the Nalbari District. Two of them were identified as ‘second
lieutenant 709th battalion’ Chanakya Barman alias Khaplang and Pranab
Kalita alias Jogesh Kalita alias Bastab. One .30 pistol, four grenades,
ten metres of fuse wire, empty cartridges of AK-47 Rifles, an electric
plug board, explosive materials and a mobile handset are recovered
from their possession.
Suspected ULFA militants detonate
a bomb at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown at Noonmati
in Guwahati, injuring two FCI employees, identified as Ratneswar
Rabha and Purna Sarma.
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May 1: A top ULFA leader, identified
as Sanjay Siring, is killed in an operation carried out by the Army
at Bisonimukh near Dibru Saikhowaghat in the Tinsukia District.
A Chinese-made hand-grenade, a mobile phone set, some money and
documents are recovered from the incident site.
The newly released United States
State Department’s ‘Country Report on Terrorism 2006’ designates
the ULFA as a group of concern and prohibits the US residents from
extending any material support to the outfit.
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April 28: Police arrested three
persons, including two ULFA militants, from the Jalukbari area of
Guwahati city. The arrested ULFA militants included the organising
secretary of the outfit's 28th Battalion, Ananta Gogoi
alias Sasanka Barua. Police recovered two M-20 pistols, four magazines,
180 rounds of AK-47 rifles, eight Austrian grenades, four-and-half
kg of RDX, two switches of programmable time device (PTD) from the
vehicle.
-
April 25: Four security force (SF)
personnel are injured when ULFA triggered a bomb explosion at Medo
in the Lohit district.
-
April 23: SFs killed three ULFA
cadres, Udhav Deka alias Sanjeeb Kalita, Parameswar Deka alias Mrigen
Dutta and Ganesh Kalita alias Goutam Sarma, at Adingagiri Kalishola
hillock along the Assam-Meghalaya border. One M-20 pistol, a grenade,
five live cartridges, 500 grams of explosives, plastic jars and
some incriminating documents were recovered from the incident site.
-
April 19: Two Assam Police personnel
are killed in an encounter with ULFA militants in the Golaghat district
along the Assam-Nagaland border.
-
April 17: ULFA abducts P.C. Ram,
the Director of the Food Corporation of India’s Northeast office,
from Guwahati. It also demanded INR 21 crore in ransom for his release.
-
April 10: Security forces kill seven
top ULFA cadres, including two women cadres, identified as ‘corporal’
Rituparna Davidar alias Rishab Bora, ‘Lt. corporal’ Lily Moran,
‘corporal’ Jayanta Sonowal, Binanda Tsering, Prafulla Hazarika alias
Brajen Sarma and Papu Gohain alias Himadri Gohain alias Moina Gohain
in a counter insurgency operation at Tikoribam in the Lohit district
along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. The Army recovered two
AK-56 rifles, 256 rounds of live ammunition of AK-56 rifle, four
AK-56 magazines, one 9-mm pistol, 13 rounds of 9-mm ammunition,
two rounds of 9-mm magazines, two hand grenades, one bundle of fuse
wire, two detonators, two mobile phones, six chargers, three memory
cards, two spare SIM cards, blank extortion notices, 16 photographs,
Rs 8,000, one five-rupee note of Bhutan currency, three watches,
a gold ring, six diaries and six letters.
One ULFA cadre is killed by the
army personnel in an encounter at Moulongbasti under Ledo Police
Station in the Tinsukia district.
SFs arrest three hardcore ULFA militants,
Mridul Ali alias Manjit, Milon Deka and Sukra Deka, along with three
grenades, four detonators and some ammunition from an unspecified
location in the Kamrup district.
-
April 8: One ULFA militant is killed
and 14 civilians are injured when a bomb carried by two ULFA militants
riding a motorbike exploded at Kumarpara area in Guwahati.
-
April 3: At least 15 civilians,
identified as Pranjit Rabha, Gajendra Talukdar, Mohammad Su-jab
Ali, Mukut Ali, Sushil Das, Mina Kumari, Rijuan Sharif, Niranjan
Baroi, Khagen Nath, Umesh Sahu, Kari Sahu, Dwijen Sarkar, Sunil
Singh, Anil Jain and Vinod Kumar Shah, sustained injuries in a ULFA
triggered grenade attack at a marketplace in the Machkhowa area
of Kamrup district on. Official sources said the attack occurred
on the eve of a 12-hour Assam bandh (strike) called by the
outfit in protest against alleged police atrocities on the wives
of missing ULFA cadres.
-
April 2: In a counter-insurgency
operation, security forces killed four ULFA
cadres in the Udalguri district.
They also recovered two AK-56 rifles, two grenades, 125 live ammunition,
four magazines and 25 empty cases of AK-56 rifles from the incident
site.
The ULFA called for
a 12-hour Assam bandh (strike) on April 4 to protest the
arrest of wives of the outfit's leaders who went missing during
the crackdown by the Royal Bhutan Army.
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March 29: The ULFA ‘chairman’
Arabinda Rajkhowa rejected the Assam Government’s offer for "unconditional"
talks on the peace initiative. He said that accepting the offer
of unconditional talks would be tantamount to surrendering the cause
it has been fighting for. He further warned that the situation in
the state would turn grave in the coming days.
-
March 28: A ULFA linkman,
Romen Chetia, is arrested from the Dibrugarh town.
-
March 27: Dibrugarh district
police neutralized a network of the ULFA with the arrest of the
head assistant of the district and sessions court, Munin Konwar,
for allegedly helping the militants and their linkmen procure bail.
-
March 21: SFs shot dead
a ULFA militant,
identified as Ratneswar Rabha, and arrested another, identified
as Lawrence Marak, near Jengjal in the West Garo Hills district,
while the militants were planning to cross over to Tikrikilla after
entering from neighbouring Bangladesh. SF’s also seized 3-kgs of
RDX from the incident site.
-
March 19: SFs arrested
four suspected ULFA militants, identified as Rubul Saloi, Jitu Kalita,
Dhaneswar Kumar and Pulak Das, in the Baksa district.
-
March 15: The ULFA triggered
a series of bomb blasts in different parts of Assam losing one of
its cadres in the explosions and injuring 11 others besides blasting
an oil pipeline.
One person is killed
and five others are wounded in an explosion at Sonari town in the
Sivasagar district. Police suspected the involvement of the
ULFA in
the attack.
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March 14: A ULFA
militant, Raghu alias Rintu Hajong, and three suspected supporters
of the outfit, Nurmahammad Miyan, Mohammed Safiul Islam and Amzad
Khan, are arrested by Army personnel from the Chirang district on
an unspecified date. A sophisticated revolver and two country-made
rifles were reportedly recovered from their possession.
-
March 12: Sentinel
quoting intelligence source reports that the ULFA has planned a
series of attacks on the eve of its ‘army day’ on March 16 to prove
the military strength of the outfit. The report adds that 20 cadres
of the outfit led by a militant, Biju Deka, entered into Dispur
recently. The outfit has also planned to target select leaders of
the Congress Party, mentioned the report.
-
March 10: Suspected
ULFA militants kill a Panchayat (village level self-government
body) president belonging to the Congress Party at Kulhati in the
Kamrup district. Vehicle of Munin Bharali, Panchayat president of
Hajo, is ambushed while going from Hajo to Guwahati. Bharali died
on the spot.
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March 8: One person,
Gobind Maheswari, is killed and at least seventeen others, including
six of the same family, are injured when suspected ULFA militants
explode an improvised explosive device (IED) at Kakopathar Chariali
in the Tinsukia district. Police said the bomb was kept in a bag
at a hardware store near Kakopathar police station. The owner of
the store, Ramesh Maheswari, spotted the bag resulting in the explosion.
Subsequently, police recover another bomb weighing about 8 kilograms
from the Gelgelipatti area of Kakopathar.
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March 7: A self-styled
"sergeant major" of the ULFA, identified as Tapan Kakati alias Ratul
Pegu, is arrested while traveling in a three-wheeler along National
Highway 37 in the Jorhat district. Kakati, an arms expert trained
in Myanmar, was wanted in several cases since the counter insurgency
operations against the ULFA in Bhutan in late 2003.
-
March 7: A militant
leader of the ‘28th Battalion’ of the ULFA over telephone tells
that the outfit was tired of waiting for the government to reciprocate
the "goodwill gesture" of revoking the call for a boycott of the
33rd National Games. "We have been watching the government’s actions
for about a month now and it is unfortunate that the people of the
state are being harassed in the name of counter-insurgency operations.
The blast with which we targeted a CRPF vehicle in Dhemaji district
on Monday was just the beginning of a fresh round of attacks," says
the militant.
-
March 6: 19 persons
including a college lecture are arrested in connection with March
5 blast triggered by the ULFA injuring nine paramilitary personnel
and one civilian in the Dhemaji district. "We have got some leads,
but disclosing anything at this point of time will be premature,"
says the Superintendent of Police Mridulananda Sarmah.
-
March 5: Assam Police arrest a person,
Montu Dutta, for serving extortion notes under the pad of the ULFA
at Cinnamara area in the Jorhat district.
-
March 5: Nine paramilitary personnel
and the civilian driver of a convoy are wounded, as ULFA militants
triggers an explosion at Jorkata Katgaon in the Dhemaji district.
The convoy was completely damaged in the blast. Police recover some
flexible wires and live 9 mm pistol ammunition from the incident
site.
-
March 5: Assam Chief Minister Tarun
Gogoi informs the State Legislative Assembly that 459 persons had
been killed and 1,350 injured in ULFA attacks from 2001 to February,
2007.
-
March 2: One ULFA militant, Bolin
Moran, is shot dead by SF personnel during an encounter at Nagaon
Shantipur in Raidang under Digboi police station in the Tinsukia
district. A 9mm pistol, two magazines, three rounds of ammunition,
Myanmarese currencies and incriminating documents are recovered
from possession of the slain militant.
-
February 28: Assam Chief Minister
says that there can be no compromise on the issue of sovereignty
while negotiating with the ULFA. Speaking during the debate on the
Governor’s Address in the State Legislative Assembly, Chief Minister
mentions, "What will be achieved by discussing an issue which is
non-negotiable? It will be sheer wastage of time. Ulfa also knows
well that no government, which has taken an oath to uphold and protect
the Constitution, can accept such a demand. It’s only a delaying
tactics."
-
February 27: A suspected ULFA militant,
Mrinal Rai, is arrested by SF personnel during a search operation
at Chanderpara in the Kokrajhar district.
-
February 25: The Strategic Foresight
Inc (Stratfor), a United States based think tank, publishes a report
stating that ULFA has given extorted money worth $6 million to political
parties in Bangladesh. Describing ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Barua as "an enormously wealthy racketeer worth approximately
$110 million", the report says that at least 15 election candidates
belonging to both the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and the Awami
League have received money from the outfit. The report states that
ULFA is "hedging its bets in order to protect its militant
and business operations in Bangladesh, should either party win".
The report adds that Paresh Barua has business operations throughout
India, Bangladesh and the Persian Gulf, "including hotels,
consulting firms, driving schools, tanneries, department stores,
textile factories, travel agencies, investment companies, shrimp
trawlers and soft drink factories".
-
February 24: A ‘corporal of the
A company of the 28 battalion’ of the ULFA, identified as Nilakanta
Dahotia alias Saroj Gogoi, is arrested from an unspecified place
in the Tinsukia district. A mobile handset was recovered from his
possession. Following his interrogation, Army personnel arrest Bichitra
Kumar, a correspondent of a vernacular daily from Dirak Chariali,
for giving his SIM card to the ULFA.
-
February 21: Six ULFA linkmen are
arrested from Ahomiyagaon, Kopouhuagaon and Joypur Tea Estate areas
in the Dibrugarh district. They were identified as Raju Gogoi, Hiranath
Phukan, Junti Phukan, Rakesh Saha, Sanjit Kamalapuri and Munna Thakur.
-
February 19: A ULFA linkman, Jibon
Manki, is arrested at Dhola in the Tinsukia district. An improvised
explosive device (IED) is recovered from a suitcase on a railway
track and is later defused near Tipok Tea Estate under Doomdooma
police station in the same district.
-
February 16: ULFA threatens to resume
its attacks on Hindi-speaking people and leaders and workers of
the ruling Congress party. An unidentified leader of the outfit’s
28th battalion called up a section of the media in Guwahati and
claimed that the Union Government as well as the State government
had not "responded positively to the outfit’s lifting the ban
it had imposed on the ongoing 33rd National Games. They have continued
their operations, which had once again prompted the outfit to take
to the path of violence."
A top leader of the ‘28th battalion’
of ULFA, identified as Jagat Barua alias Ashim Barua, and his female
associate, Kabita Barua, surrender before the Army at Kakopathar
in the Tinsukia district.
-
February 15: A report suggests that
at least 100 militants belonging to the NSCN-K and ULFA were reportedly
killed during a massive counter-insurgency operation by the Myanmar
Government in its territory bordering the North Eastern States of
India. ULFA had over 300 cadres in the camps when the operation
began on January 26.
-
February 15: Dibrugarh district
police arrest a person, Yasin Huda, for his involvement in extortion.
Huda, identifying himself as a ULFA cadre, made a phone call to
Arun Barua, an engineer of Northeast Frontier Railways, demanding
ransom worth INR 50,000.
Two women cadres of the ULFA, identified
as Mrinmoyee Handique and Junmoni Saikia, are arrested from Singloopathar
under Kakotibari police station in the Sivasagar district. Two mobile
phones and some indiscriminating documents are recovered from their
possession.
An unidentified ULFA militant and
a homeopath doctor, Govind Handique, are arrested from Kanhubari
area along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh-Nagaland border. The militant
had come from the ULFA camp situated in Arunachal Pradesh for getting
medical treatment in Assam when he was arrested. The doctor was
arrested for his suspected links with the ULFA.
-
February 14: A ULFA militant, Kabin
Moran, is killed in an encounter with the security force personnel
at Inthang village near Manabhum Reserve Forest in the Lohit district
of Arunachal Pradesh, bordering upper Assam. However, three other
militants, including one injured during the encounter, managed to
escape from the incident site.
Intelligence source reports on ULFA’s
probable strikes after the National Games is over. "This was more
apparent after we received confession of an arrested ULFA cadre,
stating that seven of her aids were hiding in and around the city….The
lower rung of the ULFA suspects that top rung had come to some sort
of monetary understanding with the Government to withdraw the boycott
call during the National Games. Although there is no veracity but
to keep the flock united the ULFA will restart attack," says the
sources by adding, "We must admit that, in the last couple of years,
the Intelligence has been poor and we do not even have profiles
of ULFA mid rung leaders."
A cadre and a linkman of the ULFA,
identified respectively as Branthik Sangma and Samar Deb, surrender
at Diphu in the Karbi Anglong district. They deposited a Thailand-made
pistol, an automatic sub-machine carbine and 30 rounds of ammunition.
-
February 12: An unidentified ULFA
militant is killed in an encounter with security personnel at Borkuriha
village under Rangia police station in the Kamrup (Rural) district.
Another ULFA militant is arrested and one pistol with 9mm ammunition
is recovered from the encounter site.
A make shift camp of the ULFA is
destroyed at upper Dihing reserve forest near Samoguri village in
the Tinsukia district.The camp serves as a base for providing medical
treatment to the injured ULFA militants and other subversive activities
in the area. Audio cassettes, mobile phone covers, files, diaries,
clothes such as pants, jackets, scarves etc. are also recovered
from the camp.
-
February 9: An Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) is detonated by suspected militants at the Kamakhya
railway station in the outskirts of the Guwahati city. No one, however,
is injured in the explosion. Police sources said train services
were not affected by the explosion.
An IED weighing 12 kilograms is
found from a railway track in Mamoroni, near Makum railway station
in the Tinsukia district.
A senior unidentified police officer
in Chhattisgarh said that Assam-based ULFA provides technological
knowhow to the Maoists who triggered an explosion killing seven
persons at Bhairamgarh in the Dantewada district on February 8.
Elaborating on the technology, the officer, on condition of anonymity,
said the lunchbox was connected with two detonators and batteries.
An unidentified ULFA militant is
killed in an encounter with the SFs at Choki village under Borbori
ploice station in the Baska district. One 9mm pistol, six rounds
of live ammunition, two Chinese grenades are recovered from the
possession of the slain militant.
-
February 7: A ULFA militant, identified
as commander of the outfit’s 27th battalion, Biplob Changmai alias
Hema Deka, is killed by Assam Police personnel during a counter
insurgency operation at Biswanath Pathar under Howraghat police
station in the Karbi Anglong.
-
February 6: An ULFA militant, Sanjib
Rava alias Jakson Rava, is killed in an encounter with Army at Barjhora
under Lakhipur police station in the Goalpara district. One grenade
is recovered from possession of the slain militant.
-
February 5: At least three civilians
are injured when suspected ULFA militants trigger a bomb blast at
Kamakhyaguri Railway station in the Jalpaiguri district.
ULFA withdraws the boycott call
to the 33rd National Games, scheduled to be held in Guwahati from
February 9. In a statement made available to the media through e-mail,
the outfit’s chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, formally withdraws the
boycott call "in view of the appeals made by the prominent
sports personalities and sports-lovers of Asom".
-
February 4: A powerful car bomb
explodes in front of the Panbazar police station in Guwahati. "The
car was brought from near the Sani temple in Fancy Bazar around
11-30 am yesterday. Three more vehicles were also brought but those
were later collected by their owners…..This is a new technique adopted
by the ULFA," says Additional Superintendent of Police (City), Rajen
Singh. While no casualty is reported, several vehicles and buildings
are damaged in the explosion.
-
February 3: A farmer, identified
as Jugantar Neog, is shot dead by ULFA militants at an unspecified
place in the Tinsukia district. According to police sources, Jugantar
Neog was suspected by militants of working for the Army and district
authorities.
A self-styled ‘corporal of 28th
battalion’ of ULFA, Sanabar Moran, is killed in an encounter with
security force (SF) personnel at an unspecified place between Nakathalguri
and Talpathar in the Tinsukia district. However, five other militants
manage to escape from the encounter site.
The ULFA again threatens the North
East Television channel to prove its report that the outfit accepted
money to withdraw the National Games boycott call within a month.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
says that the ULFA is trying to disrupt the National Games starting
in Guwahati on February 9. "Till today there are intelligence reports
about the ULFA planning to disrupt the Games. Till today they (ULFA)
have not withdrawn their call to boycott the Games," he says in
Guwahati. He, however, adds, "There is no need for worry. We
are not relaxing our vigil. I appeal to all, even the ULFA, to extend
cooperation for holding the National Games successfully."
-
January 31: Two ULFA linkmen, Swaraj
Das and Sarbojyoti Gogoi, are arrested by Chabua and Tengakhat in
the Dibrugarh district. A person, identified as Jayanta Hazarika,
is arrested from Majuli island in the Jorhat district for having
links with ULFA leader Amrit Dutta.
Additional Superintendent of Police
of the Jorhat district, Mukul Saikia, says that three ULFA militants,
Pathik Hatimota, Amrit Dutta and Pradip Bora, who abducted and later
killed the social worker, Sanjoy Ghose, in 1997, are camping in
Majuli and targeting workers of the Congress party for extortion.
-
January 30: Two Hindi-speaking persons
are shot at and wounded by ULFA militants at Mazbat in the Udalguri
district.
Two ULFA linkmen, Pradip Pal of
Namrup and Nabakanta Baruah of Khowang, are arrested by the Tinsukia
District Police.
Three women and a man are arrested
from Singla Pathar area under Mathurapur police station in the Sivasagar
district along the Assam-Nagaland border for harbouring ULFA militants.
Militants manage to escape.
The ULFA warns the North East Television
channel to stop its operations in Assam if it fails to prove within
a month its report that the outfit had taken money from the State
Government to withdraw its call to boycott the National Games, scheduled
to be held in Guwahati from February 9-18.
At least 50 brick kilns in the Darrang
district are closed due to the mass exodus of labourers for fear
of being targeted by ULFA militants.
-
January 29: A ULFA linkman, Surjit
Borgohain, is arrested from Kutuha village under Borboruah police
station in the Dibrugarh district.
Two Hindi speaking civilians are
shot dead by the ULFA militants at an unspecified place in the Tinsukia
district.
Security force (SF) personnel have
shot dead an ULFA militant, identified as Moni Gogo, in a retaliatory
fire, when a group of ULFA militants hurl a hand grenade at the
SF personnel near the Dehing River at Asomiya Gaon under Joypur
police station in the Dibrugarh district. A cache of arms and explosives,
including 16 rounds of ammunition, a detonator, a diary, an improvise
explosive device and writing pad of the ULFA, are recovered from
the possession of the slain militant.
A ULFA militant, identified as Swadhin
Rabha, is shot dead in an encounter at Kalpani village under Krishnai
police station in Goalpara district. One AK-56 assault rifle with
ammunition is recovered from the possession of the slain militant.
-
January 28: An activist of the ruling
Congress party, identified as Khagen Charringia, is shot dead by
ULFA militants at an unspecified place in the Sivasagar district.
A grenade planted by the suspected
ULFA militants is recovered and later defused near the main gate
of the Army’s 17 battalion in the Udalguri district.
-
January 27: A ULFA militant, Swadhin
Rabha, is killed in an encounter with security force personnel near
Krishnai under Dudhnoi police station in the Goalpara district.
A ULFA militant, Binod Chetia, of
the ‘28th battalion’ is killed during an encounter at Gandhaiguri
under Kakopathar police station in the Tinsukia district. He is
involved in the recent killing of Hindi-speaking people at Longswal
under Doomdooma police station.
-
January 26: The ULFA militants hurl
a grenade in the Namtol area of Sivasagar district injuring four
persons, including a child. Elsewhere in the same district, ULFA
militants hurl a grenade on the Congress party office at Sonari.
No casualty is reported in the incident.
Assam Governor Lt. Gen (Rtd) Ajai
Singh, while addressing the Republic Day celebration in Guwahati,
says that the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) "regrouped
and consolidated its weak positions" by taking advantage of the
cease-fire during the period of indirect talks through the People's
Consultative Group (PCG). The report adds that 53 militants were
killed and 826 arrested in the State during counter-insurgency operation
in 2006.
An activist of the ruling Congress
party, identified as Sailadhar Rajkonwar, is shot dead by suspected
ULFA militants at number 1 Kanu gaon under Sapekhati police station
in the Sivasagar district along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
-
January 25: One person, identified
as Kushal Baniya, is killed and eight others sustain injuries when
ULFA cadres trigger a improvised explosive device (IED) explosion
at a bus terminus at Rangia in the Kamrup (Rural) district.
A suspected ULFA militant is killed
when the bomb that he was carrying on a bicycle accidentally explodes
at Borhatjan under Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia district.
Two persons are wounded in the blast.
ULFA militants trigger an explosion
at Kacharibasti near Ganeshguri locality in Guwahati. The bomb is
concealed in a dustbin. No casualty is reported. Further, ULFA militants
explode two bombs at separate places in Hajo and Rangia in the Kamrup
district. No casualty is reported in either of these incidents.
At least six ULFA linkmen are arrested
during a search operation in the Tinsukia district.
-
January 24: A truck driver, Dijendra
Rai, is shot at and wounded by the Karbi Longri North Cachar Hills
Liberation Front militants at Lahorijan on the way to Diphu in the
Karbi Anglong district.
A crude bomb is recovered during
a search operation near Basugaon police station in the Chirang district.
A time bomb, suspected to have been
planted by the ULFA, explodes near an aluminium manufacturing plant
at Pakorijan in the Tinsukia district. The compound wall of the
plant is partially damaged in the blast.
ULFA militants lob a grenade at
an Army convoy at Rangiya in the Kamrup district.
A ULFA militant, Dhananjay Rai,
is arrested from Abhayapuri in the Dhubri district. 14 detonators,
three safety fuses and seven gelatin sticks were recovered from
his possession.
A ULFA militant, Mangal Moran, surrenders
at the Daisajan outpost of Tinsukia district.
-
January 23: A leader of the ruling
Congress party, identified as Chandra Chutia, was shot dead by ULFA
militants at Tarani Pathar under Naharkatia police station in the
Dibrugarh district.
Suspected ULFA militants hurl a
grenade at a residential area of Bhatipara in the Goalpara district.
However, no casualties are reported in the incident.
One civilian is killed and 14 others
are severely injured in an explosion at Adabari in the Guwahati
city of Kamrup district. The explosive was hidden in a bag and was
left in a tea stall allegedly by suspected ULFA militants. The owner
of the tea stall after sighting the unclaimed bag threw it into
a nearby drain before the explosion occurred.
At least six persons are injured
in an explosion at the Paglasthan market in the Bongaigaon district.
The explosive was reportedly hidden in a bag and left on a bi-cycle
in front of a shop. Elsewhere in the district, suspected ULFA militants
trigger an explosion under a culvert near Bongaigaon town.
-
January 22: At least 10 to 15 armed
ULFA cadres infiltrate into the East Garo Hills district in two
groups from the Krishnai-Agya stretch of the Assam-Meghalaya border
after counter-insurgency operations is launched in the Kamrup and
Goalpara districts of Assam.
Meghalaya Police say that three
kilograms of RDX and eight grenades, recovered from ULFA cadre Raju
Basumatary on January 19, were part of the arms consignment for
the ‘27th battalion’ of the ULFA. Basumatary confesses during interrogation
that he had brought RDX and arms from Bangladesh through Garo Hills
and then to the Ri-Bhoi district. A top police official, quoting
his confession, says, "With the arrest and the subsequent seizure,
the ULFA’s 27 battalion suffered a setback... Besides RDX, grenades
and a 1-mm pistol, the Asom Police’s huge haul of arms, ammunition
and Rs 16 lakh cash from Jorabad in the Meghalaya-Asom border three
months ago were ferried by Basumatary." The report added that
Basumatary had used one person, Shonlang Rympei, to transport the
consignment to the ULFA cadres.
A ULFA militant, Bikash Roy alias
Mallic Ahmed, is arrested from a rented house at Panjabari area
in Guwahati. Bikash reportedly worked for the ULFA as an agent of
the MULTA. Some incriminating documents were recovered from his
possession indicating his close rapport with a section of politicians.
He was involved in the January 9-bomb blast in Dispur, the capital
of Assam.
At least four ULFA militants hurl
a grenade on police personnel who retaliate injuring two militants
at Gopalpur under Kalapani police outpost in the Dhubri district.
While the injured militants manage to escape, a mobile phone is
recovered from the incident site.
Two persons, including a woman and
a bank employee, are arrested from Jorhat district for having links
with the ULFA.
Three ULFA linkmen, Manoj Sonowal,
Jatin Konwar and Achit Konwar, are arrested in separate search operations
in the Sivasagar district.
A top Army officer reports that
five arms dealers are arrested from unspecified places in upper
Assam while entering from Nagaland indicating that the ULFA is still
procuring weapons. The report adds that Army has arrested 20 ULFA
leaders and 12 overground cadres, and recovered three universal
machine guns, one Thomson Sub Machine Gun, AK series rifles, pistols
and rifles from them in the recent past.
A ULFA militant, Bikash Roy alias
Mallic Ahmed, is arrested from a rented house at Panjabari area
in Guwahati. Bikash reportedly worked for the ULFA as an agent of
the MULTA. Some incriminating documents were recovered from his
possession indicating his close rapport with a section of politicians.
He was involved in the January 9-bomb blast in Dispur, the capital
of Assam.
A portion of the railway track between
Diphu and Nailalong Railway stations in the Karbi Anglong district
is damaged due to a bomb explosion triggered by suspected ULFA and
KLNLF militants.
-
January 21: The ULFA’s main linkman
with the Pakistan’s Inter–Services Intelligence (ISI), Munna Choudhury,
is arrested from a rented house at Panjabari area in Guwahati. A
map spotting city areas dominated by Hindi-speaking people and a
fake passport in the name of Ajmal Munna are recovered from his
possession. Subsequently, Motlib Khan, the operation in-charge of
the ISI, and his accomplice, Ajharuddin Ali, are arrested from Guwahati.
They were involved in the January 9-bomb blast in Dispur, the capital
of Assam.
One person is killed and 12 others
are injured when a bomb planted by suspected ULFA militants explodes
in the fish market at Bohori in the Barpeta district.
At least five persons are injured
in a blast at a parking area near the railway station at Bongaigaon.
According to police sources, suspected ULFA militants planted the
bomb in a motorcycle.
Two persons, Gopal Dutta and Roopak
Dutta, are arrested while planning to plant bombs at various places
in Jorhat town. Roopak Dutta was an ULFA militant arrested in Bhutan
in 2003.
An ULFA militant, Pallab Saikia,
who was arrested on December 14 in 2006, confesses that a group
of 11 ULFA militants were responsible for carrying out the attack
on Bangladesh’s opposition leader Sheikh Hasina Wajed on August
21, 2004.
-
January 20: Two Hindi-speaking persons
are killed and eight are injured as ULFA militants trigger a powerful
blast in Tinsukia town. Inspector-General of Police (Special Branch)
Khagen Sharma says that a time device planted on a motorbike parked
on Siding Chamber Road of Tinsukia town went off killing one person
and while another person succumbed to his injuries at a hospital.
Within an hour of the incident, police arrest two suspected ULFA
militants at the Tinsukia railway station. The duo, allegedly involved
in the blast, had entered Assam from the outfit's camp inside neighbouring
Arunachal Pradesh.
The ULFA militants kill a worker
of the Congress party in Digboi. Congress panchayat (village level
body) secretary Bogadhar Moran is killed at his residence in Betani
village under the Digboi police station. The outfit had earlier
threatened to target Congress leaders and workers if any of its
cadres is killed by the security force personnel.
A ULFA militant is killed in an
encounter with security personnel at Dariduri Namapara village in
the Goalpara district. One grenade, one M-20 pistol, some ULFA related
incriminating documents are recovered from possession of the slain
militant.
An unidentified ULFA militant is
killed in an encounter with security personnel at Gakhirchuk Boragaon
under Fatasil Ambari police station in Guwahati City. Two grenades
and some fuse wire are recovered from possession of the slain militant.
Twenty more companies of central
paramilitary forces are sent to Assam for internal security duties
as well as for providing security for the National Games at Guwahati
in February.
-
January 19: Two civilians are killed
and 10 others sustain injuries when ULFA militants explode a bomb,
concealed in a vegetable basket, at a market near Adabari bus terminus
in Guwahati.
A ULFA militant, ‘sergeant’ Polashmani
Barua, is killed in an encounter with security force (SF) personnel
at Dirok Nabajyoti under Pengeri police station in the Tinsukia
district. While three other militants manage to escape, four gelatin
sticks and five detonators are recovered from the possession of
the slain militant.
A ULFA linkman, Dhruba Kujur, is
arrested from an unspecified place at Makum in the Tinsukia district.
According to police sources, Kujur was among the four militants
who carried out attacks on Hindi-speaking people at Longsuwal in
Doomdooma.
A huge cache of arms and explosives,
including two kilograms of Trinitrotoluene (TNT) — capable of making
17 powerful bombs — two huge remote-controlled explosives, 17 detonators
and some fuse wires, is recovered from the residence of an absconding
ULFA linkman, Pilingia Moran, at Mamoroni village in the Tinsukia
district.
Two suspected ULFA militants, identified
as Rajiv Basumatary and Wansanlang Rympei, are arrested from Bhoirymbong
area near Umroi airport in Shillong. Three kilograms of RDX and
a 9-mm pistol are recovered from them. Rympei is involved in gunrunning.
-
January 18: Three ULFA linkmen,
including one identified as Tarun Mahanta, are arrested in Bandarkati,
Doomdooma and Kakopathar areas of Tinsukia district. A grenade and
seven rounds of AK-56 ammunitions are recovered from them.
A ULFA cadre, Azad Chetia alias
Girish Gogoi, is arrested from a village near Sunpara under Sarakapara
police out post in the Sibsagar district.
A ULFA ‘commander’, Jiten Dutta,
calls up some leaders of the ruling Congress party at Doomdooma
to ask for the release of a militant, Tarun Mahanta, who was arrested
from Bandorkhati Dahotiain in the Tinsukia district.
-
The ULFA, while justifying the killing
of Hindi-speaking persons, is reported to have asked "all Indian
citizens who migrated to Assam" to leave the State.
January 17: Two civilians, including
a child, are killed and 12 others are wounded when the ULFA militants
trigger an explosion at a shopping place at Ganeshguri in Dispur,
the capital of Assam. The Special Superintendent of Police, Nitul
Gogoi, describes the bomb as a timer device hidden in a carton of
vegetables.
Two unidentified ULFA militants
are killed in an encounter with the Army personnel near Doomdooma
tea estate in the Tinsukia district. Two ULFA cadres are also arrested
from the encounter site.
The ULFA triggers an Improvised
Explosive Device (IED) targeting an Army convoy which narrowly escaped
on the Goalpara-Agia road in the Goalpara district along the Assam-Meghalaya
border.
Two bombs explode at the ground
floor of the Asom Cooperative Apex Bank building at Badarpur town
in the Karimganj district.
Five ULFA militants are arrested
from the Sonitpur district. Three crude bombs, a rifle and some
machetes were recovered from them. While two ULFA militants were
arrested from Dhubri, another militant was arrested from Sapkata
in the Kokrajhar district.
The Army says that the ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Baruah is working under Bangladesh’s direct ‘diktat’.
A ULFA linkman, Shankar Chakma,
is arrested by security personnel while neutralizing two camps run
by the outfit by at Monobhum reserve forest of Tirap district in
Arunachal Pradesh. Books showing location of top ULFA leaders, medicines,
clothes and rations are recovered from the camps.
-
January 16: Security force personnel
foil an attempt by a suspected ULFA militant to attack a group of
brick kiln workers at Nikinikhowa village under Kamalabari police
station in Majuli subdivision of Jorhat district. While the militant
manage to escape, an AK-56 rifle is recovered from the incident
site.
Guwahati Police arrest three persons,
identified as Kamal Banikya, Jagadish Rabha and Samina Khatun, in
connection with the blast at Dispur. Kamal and Jagadish are remanded
to police custody for three days.
-
January 15: Assam Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi said that the six-week ceasefire with the ULFA was a
blunder, with the outfit taking advantage of the truce to regroup
its cadres and spread them across Assam. "In retrospect, I admit
that the judgment may be a little wrong when we offered a ceasefire
to the ULFA," said Gogoi.
-
January 14: Three ULFA militants,
Manipal Narzary, Ganesh Basumatary and Unglu Basumatary, are arrested
from Kokrajhar district. A huge cache of arms and explosives, including
an Italian 7.5-mm pistol, two 9-mm pistols, some grenades and several
rounds of cartridges, are recovered from them.
Two ULFA militants are arrested
during a search operation in the Changlang district of Arunachal
Pradesh.
Four ULFA militants are arrested
in upper Assam. While two are arrested from Tingrai area in the
Tinsukia district, two more are arrested from Naoholia in the Dibrugarh
district.
Around eight children hailing from
the State Jharkhand, who were working in Assam, are reported missing
following the recent ULFA attacks in upper Assam.
-
January 13: A ULFA cadre is arrested
from Nipunkheti in the Tinsukia district. Medical instruments like
a blood pressure measuring machine and a stethoscope, 75 copies
of the outfit’s publication Freedom, a combat dress and 100
liquor bottles are recovered from his possession.
Two militants, Jan Bhuyan and Bijoy
Chakma, respectively belonging to the NSCN-K and ULFA surrender
before the 29 Assam Rifles at Jairampur in of Changlang district
of Arunachal Pradesh. They deposit two universal machine guns, one
radio set, a carbine and ammunition, after deserting their respective
camps in Myanmar. Bhuyan confesses that at least 60 ULFA cadres
are currently undergoing training in Myanmar under the guidance
of the NSCN-K.
Army claims to have arrested an
ULFA sympathiser, Mutlib Ali, near Santipur in Lower Dibang Valley
district of Arunachal Pradesh.
The ULFA threatens to target leaders
of the ruling Congress Party in Assam if Army operations against
the outfit continues. A caller claiming to be from the group's 28th
battalion rang up a private TV channel's office in Guwahati and
made the threat.
-
January 12: Three unidentified ULFA
militants are killed and three others arrested during a counter-insurgency
operation in the Darrang district.
An unidentified ULFA militant is
shot dead during a counter-insurgency operation at a village in
the Baska district bordering Bhutan.
-
January 11: A ULFA cadre, Ridamsha
Mushahary alias Chifung, who is arrested from Kulchi area of Kamrup
district, confesses that the ULFA extorted ransoms amounting to
lakhs of rupees in Kamrup during the last few months.
The Army claims that the ‘28th Battalion’
of the ULFA is trained at camps in Myanmar. The battalion, with
an estimated strength of 350-plus, had masterminded and executed
some of the worst massacres in upper Assam, including the latest
serial killings of Hindi-speaking migrants.
-
January 10: An ULFA linkman, Khotman
Mithi, is arrested during a search operation at Karbi Anglong district.
Two AK-47 rifles with four magazines are recovered from him.
An unidentified ULFA militant is
arrested in the Tinsukia district. An AK-47 rifle is recovered from
him.
Three ULFA militants along with
arms and explosives are arrested from Udalguri district.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi
accuses Indira Goswami, a member of the ULFA-backed People’s Consultative
Group, of "hiding facts" relating to the ULFA’s links with the ISI.
The Chief Minister stated, "Why did she not reveal whatever the
Centre told her about Ulfa’s link with Pakistan’s ISI?"
-
January 9: A ULFA militant is killed
in an encounter with the troops at Dangargarh under Tamulpur police
station in the Baska district. One AK-47 rifle and one magazine
are recovered from the slain militant.
Two civilians and two policemen,
Boli Narayan Choudhury and Bharat Saharia, are injured in a bomb
explosion triggered by the ULFA cadres at the Dispur Capital Complex.
-
January 9: The Army launches a operation,
code-named Rhino-II, across Assam, but primarily in upper Assam,
including the Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.
-
January 8: One civilian is killed
in cross fire between Army and ULFA militants at Sadhubasti Naohalia
village under Duliajan police station in the Dibrugarh district.
The ULFA militants shot dead two
labourers hailing from the State of Bihar, and injured another at
Gelabeel area under Borpathar poice station in the Golaghat district.
Two persons, Joy Mahato and Jitendra
Prasad, who were injured in the serial bomb blasts triggered by
the ULFA, succumbed to their injuries at Assam Medical College hospital
in the Dibrugarh district. With these deaths the fatalities have
risen to 67.
Eleven persons are wounded, when
ULFA triggers two explosions at Satgaon market near the Narengi
cantonment in the Kamrup District.
Reports indicate that a large number
of Hindi-speaking migrant workers have started fleeing Assam in
batches following the terrorist attacks by the ULFA.
-
January 7: The ULFA kills a block-level
Congress party leader, Ajit Deori, in his residence at Bordumsa
in the Tinsukia district.
Seven persons belonging to Bihar
are killed and three others sustain injuries when ULFA militants
call them out of their homes at Borali Bari near Mahmara in the
Sibsagar district and open fire.
Assam Police said that six Hindi-speaking
persons were shot dead and one injured in an attack by ULFA militants
at Chokolia near Dimow in the Dibrugarh district.
Two Hindi-speaking persons are killed
and five injured when ULFA militants open fire at a brick kiln at
Sepon Chagolia in Moran.
Two ULFA militants are killed in
an encounter with SF personnel in a counter-insurgency operation
in the Sibsagar district.
-
January 6: A teenaged
Hindi-speaking boy is injured when ULFA militants shot at him at
Kochugaon in the Kokrajhar district.
-
January 5: ULFA militants
kill six persons, hailing from the State of Bihar, at Tukuria Chapori
under Jonai police station in the Dhemaji district.
At least 19 persons
are killed and 25 others wounded, when explosions were triggered
targeting migrant workers in six separate locations in the eastern
districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia. Sibsagar district was also
part of the area where explosion caused civilian casualty.
-
January 4: Six ULFA
militants, Pitar Rava, Sriram Rava, Bidhan Rava, Ashok Narzary,
Gangaram Koch and Sujit Rava, are arrested following an encounter
with the security force (SF) personnel near Hail river under Kachugaon
police station in the Kokrajhar district.
The dead body of a
ULFA cadre, Likhon Moran alias Likheswar Gogoi, is recovered by
SFs from Lakhipathar forest in the Tinsukia district. Likhon was
injured in an encounter with the Army personnel on January 2.
-
January 2: Two ULFA
militants, Kongkon Gogoi alias Kamal Gogoi and Surajit Gohain alias
Yugantar Phukon, are killed in an encounter with security force
personnel at Chirang Gaon under Bordubi police station in the Tinsukia
district.
-
January 1: Assam Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi, while asking ULFA to participate in peace
talks, said, "sovereignty is out of the question".
2006
-
December 31: Two unidentified ULFA militants are killed
and four others, Arun Thapa, Jagu Dorji, Veer Bahadur and Samuty
Chakma, are arrested during a counter-insurgency operation at Mendo
in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh. A cache of arms and
explosives, including one 7.65 mm Italian automatic pistol, two
local-muzzle loaded rifles, one magazine, two rounds of cartridges,
two fired cases, along with a radio set, a sony MP4 recorder, and
a mobile phone, is recovered from the incident site. The arrested
ULFA cadres confess during interrogation that they were planning
to target security forces on the eve of New Year in Lohit as well
as in the Tinsukia district of Assam.
-
December 30: A huge cache of arms
and explosives, including several gelatine sticks, nine detonators
and small arms, 90 pieces of assorted explosives weighing nearly
two kilograms, was recovered from two arms suppliers, Pradeep Basumatary
and Bangal Mushahary, who were arrested from an unspecified place
near Runikhata in the Chirang district. They confess to having procured
arms and explosives from a company based in Hyderabad and later
supplied the same to the Assam and Meghalaya-based outfits, including
the ULFA and NDFB.
Three persons, Kishore Deka, Pankaj
Kalita and Nayan Thakuria, are arrested from Betkuchi under Gorchuk
police outpost in Guwahati city, for serving an extortion note worth
INR 50,000 on a fake ULFA letter pad to a trader at Fancy Bazaar.
-
December 28: A search operation
is carried out at Mariani in the Jorhat district along the Assam-Nagaland
border. One person is arrested. However, Assam Police neither confirm
nor deny the report. According to police sources, both the Adivasi
Nationalist Liberation Army and ULFA cadres are making a quick getaway
by crossing the border to Nagaland, which has become a safe haven
for various militant factions.
-
December 27: A police constable
is seriously injured when the ULFA militants opened fire on police
personnel who were searching for Mantu Saikia alias Bijoy Das, a
cadre of the outfit, at Bhatiapar Rupahimukh in the Sibsagar district.
One kilogram of brown sugar worth
INR 1.30 crore is recovered from six militants of the ULFA and NDFB,
who are arrested from a hotel at Gossaigaon town in the Kokrajhar
district. While three ULFA cadres are identified as Sumi Ram Rava,
Budhadev Rava and Rupa Rava, three suspected cadres of the NDFB
are identified as Monu Basumatari, Sagar Basumatari and Sintu Musahari.
Assam Police confirms that Chief
Minister Tarun Gogoi is at the top of ULFA's hit list. The recent
arrest of ULFA cadres in Dibrugarh and Sibsagar districts in upper
Assam and their subsequent interrogation revealed that the ULFA
was "planning something big to attract the Centre's attention towards
its demands."
-
December 26: A self-styled woman ‘corporal of the
28 battalion’ of the ULFA, Karabi Phukan alias Bandita Phukan, was
arrested by security force personnel during a counter-insurgency
operation at Teokghat under Sonari police station in the Sibsagar
district.
-
December 25: A cadre of the Bravo
company of the ULFA, Biswajit Bora alias Raktim Suraj Gogoi, is
reported to have surrendered at Maibela in the Sibsagar district.
He deposited some Chinese-make grenades, three gelatin sticks, eight
fuse wires and 15 rounds of AK-47 ammunition.
Assam Government confirms that three
ULFA militants, Samiran Baruah, Numal Chetia and Bonti Gogoi, who
were arrested in Sivasagar district on December 23, gave Dibrugarh
police a list of the names and addresses of the ULFA militants operating
in the capital city.
-
December 24: A school teacher, Narayan
Sapkota, was arrested from Guwahati and is later remanded by a city
court to police custody for five days, for helping ULFA militants
in their extortion drive in Assam’s capital.
The Army recovers 6,700 copies of
an ULFA propaganda bulletin from a vehicle near Sonari town in the
Sibsagar district.
The ULFA-backed PCG rejects Prime
Minister Manmohan Singh’s offer of "safe passage" to top ULFA leaders
as a ‘political gimmick’.
-
December 23: A woman cadre of the
ULFA, identified as Bobby Chetry alias Manisha Sarma, is arrested
by the city police during a search operation at an unspecified place
near the Guwahati Medical College Hospital.
A court remands Samiran Baruah,
the mastermind of the recent blasts triggered by ULFA in Guwahati,
along with two of his accomplices, Numal Chetia and Bonti Gogoi,
for three days. They were arrested at Abhaypur near Sonari town
in the Sibsagar district. According to their confession, the ‘28th
battalion’ of ULFA was planning bigger terror attacks than those
triggered recently in the Guwahati city.
A grenade was hurled by suspected
ULFA militants at a shop at Maharipara Bazar Chowk under Goreswar
police station in the Baska district. However, the grenade fails
to explode. The owner of the shop, Chita Pandit, earlier served
an extortion note, failed to pay the ransom amount.
-
December 22: The Central intelligence
agencies revel, following the arrest of a ULFA militant, Prabal
Saikia, from Shillong on December 19, that the ULFA is trying to
use Shillong-Cherrapunjee and Shillong-Pynursla routes and other
parts of Jaintia Hills in Meghalaya for trans-shiftment of arms
from Bangladesh and exfiltration of its cadres to Bangladesh.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh reportedly
told Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi that the Union Government
would offer safe passage to top ULFA leaders if they come forward
for direct peace talks with the Government.
-
December 21: A trader, Pawan Newar,
is shot dead by ULFA militants at Beltola area in Guwahati city.
An improvised explosive device,
planted on a bicycle, is triggered by suspected ULFA militants in
the Athgaon area of Guwahati city, injuring at least 20 persons.
"The ULFA was behind the blast," says Avinash Joshi, Kamrup District
(Metro) Deputy Commissioner.
A grenade is exploded by the ULFA
injuring two persons including a trader, Babulal Agarwalla, in Gaurisagar
area of Sibsagar district. Earlier, Babulal had received an extortion
note from the ULFA.
A ULFA militant, Bodhiya Bhumij,
and a linkman of the outfit belonging to Bangladesh, Dildar Hussain,
are arrested at Ticklipam under Namsai police station in the Lohit
district of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
December 19: A ‘commander’ of the
ULFA ‘27th Battalion’, ‘captain’ Pallav Saikia alias Ananta Kakati,
is arrested along with his wife Moromi at an unspecified place of
Meghalaya. Moromi, earlier arrested by the Royal Bhutan Army during
the operation to flush out the ULFA militants from Bhutanese territory,
rejoined the ULFA after she was released by Indian authorities.
A factional clash among the ULFA
militants occurs leaving three militants, including ‘commander’
of the 28th battalion, Prabal Neog alias Benu Bora, dead at unspecified
places inside the Manabhum Reserve Forest in the Lohit district
of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
December 17: The ULFA threatens
to mobilise public resistance against the Oil India Limited’s (OIL)
attempt to carry out seismic survey on Brahmaputra river bed to
search for hydrocarbon.
-
December 15: A person belonging
to the Adi tribe, identified as Biru Tayeng, and a ULFA linkman,
Keshab Bora, are arrested by security force personnel during a search
operation at Sarkholia Chapori along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh
border. A single-barrel gun, explosives and some ULFA-related literature
are recovered from Tayeng’s possession.
Assam Legislative Assembly appeals
to the ULFA to withdraw its call for a boycott of the 33rd National
Games scheduled from February 9 to 18, 2007
-
December 13: At least four Army
personnel are injured as a bomb, planted inside a pressure cooker
by the ULFA militants, explodes at Kakotibari in the Sibsagar district.
-
December 12: Two ULFA militants, identified as Kolia
Moran alias Swapna Moran and Menua, surrender to the 2 Bihar Regiment
at Tinsukia. They also deposited three hand grenades, 10 mines,
a pistol and explosive materials to the authorities.
Hundreds of people blocked the Dibrugarh-Lahowal-Tengakhat-Duliajan
road in the Dibrugarh for more than three hours demanding the release
of suspected ULFA link-man Bhaimon Hazarika, who was reportedly
arrested on charges of providing logistical support to the militants
involved in the explosion on December 8 that killed at least five
persons. State Government asks top ULFA leaders like 'chairman'
Arabinda Rajkhowa and 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua to take
part in the peace talks with the Centre.
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi stated that the Assam Government is not
opposed to the PCG initiatives for facilitating the talks between
the militant outfit and the Centre. However, he clarifies that his
Government does not think the PCG to be the representative of the
people of Assam.
-
December 11: Forest and Environment Minister Rockybul
Hussain informed the State Legislative Assembly that at least 1,051
cadres of various militant outfits, including the ULFA, were killed
in encounters with the security forces since May 2001.
A civil society organization, Dhubri Zilla Nagarik Manch (Dhubri
District Citizen Forum), calls for a 12-hour general strike in the
Dhubri district demanding the arrest of Abu Taher Bepari, the Legislator
of Golokganj Assembly constituency, for his alleged links with the
ULFA.
-
December 10: Assam Police identifies Madhurjya Gohain,
a cadre of '28 battalion' of the ULFA, as the mastermind of the
December 8-IED explosion killing four police personnel and one civilian
at Suraj Nagar under Tengakhat police station in the Dibrugarh district.
"Gohain is an expert in handling explosives," says an unnamed police
officer.
-
December 8: An IED planted by the ULFA blows up
a requisitioned police convoy at Suraj Nagar under Tengakhat police
station in the Dibrugarh district, killing four police personnel
and the civilian driver. The ULFA claimed responsibility for the
blast and said that the explosion was executed to avenge the killing
of three of its members, including middle-rank leader Charan Majhi,
by the police on November 3.
-
December 6: Assam Government appeals to the ULFA
to withdraw its call for sportspersons to stay away from the forthcoming
National Games.
-
December 5: A ULFA militant, Jiten Munda, is shot
dead by security force personnel at village Torani under Pengeri
police station in the Tinsukia district.
-
December 4: A link-woman of the ULFA, identified
as Namita Kalita, is arrested from Guwahati in the Kamrup district.
"Namita was acting as a very important liaison person between the
underground ULFA cadres and those who are in various jails, besides
channeling funds for the rebel outfit," says Rajen Singh, the additional
police chief of Guwahati city.
Another woman cadre of the ULFA, Chayanika Bora a.k.a. Maini Bora,
who was arrested from Gowal village under Teok police station on
December 2-night, was remanded to police custody for seven days
after she was produced in a court in the Jorhat district.
-
December 2: A woman cadre of the ULFA, Chayanika
Bora alias Maini Bora, is arrested during a search operation at
Gowal village under Teok police station in the Jorhat district.
Two more persons are also arrested for providing shelter to the
ULFA cadre.
The ULFA asks the Union Government to give a written commitment
that the issue of Assam's 'sovereignty' will be discussed in the
negotiations.
-
December 1: An encounter between the security forces
and suspected ULFA militants is reported from Dighaliagaon under
Naharkatia police station in the Dibrugarh district.
-
November 30: A SULFA cadre, Nripen Mohon, is shot
dead by ULFA militants at Mohmora village in the Sibsagar district.
-
November 30: Assam Police say that the ULFA has
established links with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)
of Sri Lanka. "The ULFA leadership has established diplomatic relations
with the LTTE and there is evidence in that regard," informed an
official of the Assam Police. "The ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence
of Pakistan) introduced LTTE's arms suppliers to ULFA leaders and
two Tamils were arrested in Cox's Bazaar in Bangladesh when a huge
quantity of ammunition meant for the ULFA was seized," said the
official, adding, that arms were also supplied to ULFA through Cambodia,
for which the group paid "hard currency routed through Nepal." Reports
added that the ISI had facilitated recent visits by top ULFA leaders,
including its 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah, to Singapore,
Thailand and other countries.
The Inspector General of Border Security Force of Assam, Meghalaya,
Manipur and Nagaland Frontier, Jyoti Prakash Sinha, said that both
the ISI and Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) 'threatened' ULFA
to dissuade itself from peace talks with the Government of India.
He mentioned that on September 3, 2006, a meeting between the ULFA,
ISI and BNP leaders was arranged at Hotel Agrabad in Dhaka, capital
of Bangladesh. The meeting was attended by ULFA chief Paresh Barua,
the ISI Brigadier T. K. Bax and BNP leader Tarique Rehman Zia, who
is the son of former Bangladesh Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
-
November 29: Suspected ULFA militants trigger an
IED blast blowing off a security convoy, killing one Army personnel,
N. Yella Reddy, and injuring four Army personnel and two civilians
at Asomiagaon under Joypore police station in the Dibrugarh district.
A surrendered ULFA cadre, Bhaskar Saikia alias Mission Sonowal,
is shot dead by unidentified gunmen at his residence in the Lengrai
village of Tinsukia district.
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs said that the ULFA has been recruiting
unemployed youths and set up training camps in deep forests. The
Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, S. Reghupathy, informed
the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of parliament) that the possibility
of ULFA recruiting their cadres from neighbouring countries can
not be ruled out.
The Government is aware that the insurgent groups from Northeast
have set up camps in the neighbouring countries, he added.
-
November 28: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said
that the ULFA is under the grip of Pakistan's ISI. He told a 12-party
delegation from Assam, led by former Assam Chief Minister Prafulla
Mahanta, which met him in New Delhi that he was ready to re-start
talks with the ULFA but the group would first have to shake off
the ISI yoke guiding its actions.
The delegation had urged Dr. Singh to resume "unconditional" talks
with the ULFA. Mahanta said after the meeting, "The PM said Centre
is ready for talks (with ULFA) as and when they come out of the
clutches of ISI."
A ULFA militant, Lalit Moran, is shot dead by SF personnel in an
encounter at Liton Hatigarh in Watiat village under Pengeri police
station in the Tinsukia district. Suspected ULFA militants attacked
Rangapara police station in the Sonitpur district with a grenade.
-
November 27: A ULFA cadre, Joneshwar Sonowal, is
arrested from Tengapathar under Talap police station in the Tinsukia
district.
-
November 24: A person, Madhu Debnath, who was injured
in the November 23-explosion triggered by the ULFA at the railway
station in Guwahati, succumbs to his injuries increasing the number
of fatalities to four.
Army accuses Pakistan's external intelligence agency, the ISI, of
planting "sleeper agents" among the immigrant population of Assam.
The General Officer Commanding in Chief of the 4 Corps, Lt. General
R. K. Chhabra, said: "The ISI that is backing ULFA in cooperation
with the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI) in Bangladesh
has sleeper agents among migrants on river isles. ULFA leadership
is in Bangladesh, thanks to ISI and DGFI. Jihadi groups from Bangladesh
are providing arms and finance to ULFA.
The jihadi elements have taken root. They are not into terrorism
in a big way, but involved in gun-running, fake currency rackets
and drugs. They went to Bangladesh for training and are now lying
low as sleeping agents of the ISI."
-
November 23: Three persons, including a woman and
a child, are killed and 11 others are injured when an explosion
was triggered by suspected ULFA militants at the railway station
in Guwahati.
The victims are identified as Vinay Chauhan, a rickshaw-puller,
his wife Reena Chauhan and their child Uday. The Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine
(RDX) planted in a cycle-rickshaw was reportedly detonated by the
programmable timed delayed device.
Sivasagar district police state d that only 40 per cent of the huge
ransom extorted in the name of ULFA goes to the outfit, with the
rest 60 per cent being invested in business by persons who are never
suspected to be ULFA activists. This was revealed from the confession
of two ULFA agents, Anupam Ojah and Anil Dutta, arrested earlier.
-
November 22: An IED is exploded by suspected ULFA
militants targeting a security convoy at an unspecified place near
Naguapara village in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
-
November 21: Assam Police confirm that elephants
have destroyed several makeshift camps of the ULFA at chaporis (sandbank)
along the River Neamati in the Jorhat district. "We had information
about the rebels setting up camps on these small islands and were
planning to take action. But the elephants did the job for us,"
said a senior police officer.
Ranjit Das, a boat operator who arrested earlier from the island
of Majuli for helping ULFA militants going across the river, confesses
to the Police that elephants had also forced the militants to change
their travel plans.
Militants prefer to cross the river by night but no boatman wants
to take the risk now for fear of running into wild elephants on
the sandbanks, said Ranjit.
-
November 20: Paresh Deka, a constable arrested for
his alleged links with the ULFA, is remanded to police custody.
Ranjit Das, a boat operator, is arrested from the island of Majuli
for helping ULFA militants going across the river Neamati in the
Jorhat district.
-
November 19: The '7th Battalion' of the ULFA has
established camps at Kawaimari near Deothang in Bhutan. "With the
intensified counter insurgency operations in Upper Asom districts,
the 7th battalion of the militants had set up the camp in Kawaimari,"
informs the Special Branch of Assam Police, adding, "We are aware
of their movement. Operations are on and the security forces had
gunned down the commander of the 1st camp of the 7th battalion Dipak
Deka on Friday night."
-
November 17: An extortion note bearing signatures
of two ULFA-backed PCG members, Lachit Bordoloi and Dilip Patgiri,
is recovered from two persons, Rebot Bora and Pankaj Sarma, arrested
during a search operation near the Guwahati Commerce College.
The extortion note citing amount worth INR 20, 000 was meant for
D. Hojai, the Director of Health Services. Troops recover an IED
planted by the ULFA under a culvert at Sengelimora village in the
Sibsagar district.
-
November 16: The ULFA-backed PCG member Indira Goswami
announces her withdrawal from the peace process. "I am hurt by the
lack of transparency," said Goswami, adding: "I am not a politician.
And as such I feel hurt because of the delay in the peace talks
process… I am primarily an author and would like to concentrate
fully on creative work. I think I have fulfilled my role as peace
facilitator and have succeeded in bringing the government and ULFA
closer through the People's Consultative Group."
-
November 15: At least eight ULFA militants, including
a 'lance corporal of 27 battalion' Shankar Bora, are arrested from
Bokolia under Howraghat police station. One Chinese grenade, an
AK-47 magazine and INR 1.27 lakh are recovered from their possession.
A ULFA militant, Ashis Gohain, is arrested by police personnel in
a search operation at the Assam State Transport Corporation bus
terminus in Nagaon. An M-20 pistol is recovered from his possession.
The ULFA demands protection of the rights of non-Bodo people in
the Bodoland Territorial Council administered areas.
The outfit refers to allegations about "a certain section" of the
people extorting money from "non-Bodo indigenous people" residing
in the Bodoland areas.
-
November 14: The ULFA triggers an IED blast damaging
crude oil pipeline of the Oil India Limited at Dishangpani in the
Sibsagar district. The crude oil caught fire immediately after the
explosion. However, the authorities managed to control the blaze
before it caused more damage. At least seven kilograms of Cyclotrimethylenetrinitramine
(also known as RDX), concealed in a pressure cooker by the ULFA,
are recovered from a road at Sarupathar near Sapekhati in the Sivasagar
district and later defused by SF personnel. Two detonators fixed
with the RDX and some wires are also recovered from the incident
site.
An ULFA cadre, Bhaimon Gogoi alias Bidyut Chetia, arrested at Kokilamukh
area in the Jorhat district, confesses to his interrogators that
the outfit during its latest extortion drives in Majuli subdivision,
extracted ransom worth INR 5, 00, 000 in two months.
Bhutan's Ambassador in India, Dago Tshering, said: "We have no report
whatsoever of the ULFA setting up any new camp inside Bhutan or
operating from anywhere in the country. On our side, the Royal Bhutan
Police (RBP) has been deployed to check or keep vigil over any militant
influx, and on your side, we are aware of the SSB deployment for
the same purpose."
-
November 13: An ULFA linkman, Monoranjan Sen, is
arrested by SF personnel during a search operation at Golokganj
Senparawas near Agomoni in the Dhubri district.
A surrendered ULFA cadre, Basanta Kalita, is shot dead by unidentified
gunmen at Luitpathar near Sualkuchi in the Kamrup district.
A police personnel and two civilians are injured when suspected
ULFA militants lobb a grenade at Superintendent of Police (Operations)
Jitmal Doley's official residence at Panbazaar in Guwahati city.
A suspected ULFA cadre, Monoranjan Sen alias Dinesh Sen, was arrested
from Shernagar village under Golokganj police station in the Dhubri
district. The Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited Assam Telecom Circle
receives from Assam Police a list of at least 97 mobile phone numbers
suspected to have been used by ULFA militants in the Tinsukia district
for verification. The Union Government conveys to the ULFA-backed
People's Consultative Group members that counter-insurgency operations
against the banned outfit will be stopped only after it gives a
written commitment for holding direct talks with the Government.
"The Centre has asked for a written commitment from ULFA about the
date of holding talks," said Indira Goswami after an hour-long meeting
with the National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan.
-
November 11: A ULFA militant, Thulonto Borgohan,
is shot dead in an encounter with SF personnel at No. 1 Labour Enclave
in the Hukunpukhuri Tea Estate along Jaigyakhowa-Barekuri Road in
Tinsukia district.
An ULFA cadre, Bhaimon Gogoi, is arrested at Nahatia area near Kokilamukh
in the Jorhat district. A pistol, ammunition and three mobile SIM
cards are also recovered from his possession. Gogoi confess during
interrogation about a linkman harbouring ULFA cadres and helping
them in extortion drives.
-
November 12: Suspected ULFA militants trigger an
explosion targeting an oil pipeline of the Oil India Limited at
Habeda Tea Estate under Bordubi police station in the Tinsukia district.
Another explosion is triggered at Ketujan in the same locality.
A ‘corporal’ of the ULFA, Bhaikon Gogoi alias Mintu, is arrested
by SF personnel following a brief encounter at Sasoni Ambari under
Naharkotia police station in the Dibrugarh district. While another
militant, Ram Gogoi, manages to escape from the encounter site,
two radio sets and a couple of mobile phones are recovered from
possession of the arrested militant.
-
November 11: Suspected ULFA militants trigger a
bomb blast in a gas pipeline of the Oil India Limited at Dhekulajan
under Tengakhat police station in the Tinsukia district.
-
November 10: Two CRPF personnel, Bansi Lal and Khagen
Chetia, are killed and eight others were injured in an ULFA-triggered
IED explosion targeting two security convoys near Sadiya police
station in the Tinsukia district.
A grenade is hurled by ULFA militants at the residence of Nagaon
district Superintendent of Police Krishna Das, injuring police personnel
guarding the house.
A bomb specialist of the ULFA, Monoranjan Borphukan alias Manab
Baruah, surrenders before the District Magistrate of Dibrugarh,
Ashutosh Agnihotri. Monoranjan deposits two hand grenades, 90 rounds
Self Loaded Rifles cartridges, four grenade fuses and two detonators.
-
November 9: The Union Government extends the proscription
on the ULFA.
An ULFA linkman, Biswajit Rai, is arrested in a search operation
at Kachokhana area under Golokganj police station in the Dhubri
district. Extortion notes, pads, a diary and incriminating documents
are recovered from his possession.
A ‘corporal’ of the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA, Amal Hazarika
alias Mrinal Barua alias Dipak, surrenders before the Jorhat District
administration. Two grenades, 10 rounds of ammunition and the magazine
of an M-16 rifle are deposited by him. Another ULFA cadre, Gopul
Lonfoi, surrenders before Morigaon District Collector at the Army’s
Red Horns Division camp near Jagiroad in the Jorhat district.
-
November 8: A child, Debojit Moran, is shot dead
and his sister, Dipanjali Moran, is wounded in a cross fire between
Army personnel and the ULFA militants at Mohong village under Pengeree
police station in the Tinsukia district.
Two bicycle-borne ULFA militants open fire with AK-47 rifles killing
a grocery shop employee, Ghanashyam Das, at Kulhati Chatrashal under
Hajo police station in the Kamrup district.
-
November 7: Assam Governor, Lt. Gen. Ajai Singh,
confirms involvement of the ULFA in the November 5 twin blasts at
the Fancy Bazaar and Noonmati areas in Guwahati. Sections of the
Hindi-speaking community, who settle in Guwahati, desert Assam following
the November 5 bomb blasts triggered by the ULFA.
-
November 6: An unidentified ULFA militant is killed
in an encounter with the Police at Santinagar under Noonmati police
station in the Guwahati city. Explosives, including 13 grenades,
nine electric detonators and some wires are recovered from his possession.
The Union Home Ministry convenes a meeting of senior army officials
and central forces in New Delhi to review the security scenario
in Assam. Home Secretary V. K. Duggal, while chairing the meeting,
says that the involvement of the ULFA is suspected in the blasts.
Duggal claims that the situation is under control and adequate security
personnel are deployed in the State.
The ULFA ‘Charlie company commander’, Jiten Dutta, claims that a
“third force” has engineered the blasts in Guwahati to defame the
outfit. Dutta claims that ULFA was in no way involved in the twin
explosions.
-
November 5: At least 14 persons are killed and more
than 52 others sustained injuries in two separate bomb blasts triggered
by suspected ULFA militants at Fancy Bazaar and Noonmati area in
Guwahati. Seven persons, including three identified as Paban Shah,
Monsun Rai and Puranmal Choudhury, are killed and several others
wounded in a bomb explosion at a tea stall in the Jai Narayan Road
of Fancy Bazaar. Further, four persons, Majid Ali, Mustan Ali, Manuara
Begum and Manoj Das, are killed and seven others wounded in another
explosion at Patharquarry area in Noonmati near installations of
two Public Sector Undertakings, the Indian Oil Corporation and Oil
India Limited.
-
November 3: Three ULFA militants are killed by SF
personnel in a counter-insurgency operation at Kardoiguri under
Moran police station in the Dibrugarh district. Two out of three
slain militants are identified as ‘area commander’ Charan Majhi
and a corporal in the 'C' Company of the ‘28 Battalion’ Anup Dehingia.
According to police sources, a huge cache of arms and explosives,
including one AK-56 rifle, one Spanish M-20 pistol, 73 rounds of
live ammunition, one mobile phone, 100 grams of suspected RDX, two
packets of explosives, 32 detonators, one safety fuse, one programmable
timer explosive device, a packet of splinters, along with camping
materials like polythene sheets and ground sheets and some documents
is recovered from the encounter site.
-
November 2: Assam Director General of Police, D.N.
Dutt, says that the ULFA is “using certain stretches of the Bhutan
for taking shelter.” Earlier, S. K. Sarkar, Additional Director
General of Police (Intelligence) of West Bengal, had said that the
ULFA and the KLO were establishing camps in Bhutan and Nepal and
are being helped by the Maoists of Nepal. Bhutanese embassy in New
Delhi denies the presence of ULFA or any other militant group in
the country. Jigme Tenzin, third secretary in the press division
of the embassy, says, “I would like to state for the record that
since the removal of all 13 camps of the Ulfa from Bhutan during
the military operations conducted by the royal Bhutan army in 2003,
there has been no presence of the ULFA or any other group inside
Bhutan.” Tinsukia District Police arrested a person, Nirmal Singh
Gurung, for distributing Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards
of the Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited to suspected ULFA cadres.
-
November 1: ULFA threatens to strongly resist attempts
by a Pubic Sector Undertaking, Oil India Ltd, to explore petroleum
oil in the Brahmaputra basin.
-
October 30: ULFA explodes three IEDs simultaneously
in upper Assam's Tinsukia district soon after troops crossed the
area. However, no casualties were reported.
-
October 29: One ULFA cadre identified as, Kanak
Rava, was arrested by the security force personnel during a search
operation near Dadan police outpost in the Goalpara district. A
Chinese-made hand grenade was recovered from his possession.
-
October 28: Two children were killed and several
others sustained injuries in the ULFA triggered twin bomb explosions
at Guwahati on the banks of the river Brahmaputra during Chhath
Puja (an annual Hindu festival dedicated to the worship of the sun).
-
October27: At least three civilians were killed
and 22 persons, including one woman, a child and two Central Reserve
Police Force personnel, sustain injuries when an improvised explosive
device planted on a bi-cycle parked in front of Paramount Restaurant
is triggered at Dhekiajuli town in the Sonitour district.
An ULFA militant, Milan Saikia alias Bhaskar Sonowal, surrenders
before the Dibrugarh District Administration.
-
October 26: A trader, Jayanta Dey, is shot dead
by the ULFA militants at Doomdooma in the Tinsukia district, for
his failure to respond to the extortion notice served on him by
the outfit.
-
October 23: An unidentified ULFA cadre is killed
and another wounded, when a grenade targeting SF personnel explodes
at village Narayanpur in the Lakhimpur district. "The grenade exploded
in the militant's hand before it could hit the target.
One of the bombers died on the spot and another was seriously injured,"
said Assam Police (Intelligence) Chief, Khagen Sharma.
-
October 23: A senior police official posted in a
Bodoland Territorial Council-administered district says that the
ULFA militants were spotted in areas just across the border with
Bhutan. "I will not say that they (ULFA) have established major
camps in the jungles of Bhutan as yet, but their presence there
has certainly been noticed," says the police official.
The ULFA-backed People's Consultative Group member, Indira Goswami,
appeals to the Union Government to restart the peace process with
the group.
-
October 21: A ULFA cadre, Mahendra Gogoi alias Manaspratim
Gogoi, is arrested from Magarahat village in the Sivasagar district.
The '28th battalion' of the ULFA reportedly announces a ceasefire
on its own without waiting for the formal 'directive' from its high
command and the outcome of the ongoing negotiations between the
Union Government and the ULFA-backed People's Consultative Group.
-
October 19: At least four ULFA cadres, Rantu Medhi,
Dhanen Ray, Manwar Hussain and Shahjahan Ali, are arrested from
Bongaljura area in the Goalpara district.
Two ULFA cadres, Aftab Ali alias Rontu Medhi and Dhojen Roy alias
Appu Saikia, and a linkman, Munawar Hussain, are arrested in a search
operation at Bangaljihar in the Goalpara district, for their involvement
in the recruitment of new cadres for the outfit.
-
October 18: A surrendered ULFA cadre, Kamal Hazarika,
is shot dead by suspected ULFA militants at Borabhayapuri under
Tengakhat police station in the Dibrugarh district. All the major
political parties in Assam condemn the ULFA for carrying out explosions,
other subversive activities, and bringing in children and students
into militancy.
-
October 17: Two ULFA linkmen, Kabindra Sonowal and
Arup Bora, are arrested from Jokhai area in the outskirts of Dibrugarh
town.
ULFA militants kill a civilian, Dilip Barua, whose dead body is
recovered from Meseki forest under Pengri police station in the
Tinsukia district.
-
October 16: SFs foil a plan by the ULFA to plant
IEDs and blow up oil and gas pipelines at Duliajan under Lankasi
police station in the Tinsukia district. Digging tools and wires
are recovered from the incident site.
-
October 15: A trader, Omprakash Agarwalla, is shot
dead by ULFA cadres at his grocery shop under Morn police station
in the Sivasagar district. He was earlier served extortion note
by the outfit, according to police sources.
One ULFA cadre, Gautom Kalita, is killed in an explosion of a crude
bomb that he was manufacturing at his rented accommodation at Kahilipara
in Guwahati.
The ULFA-backed People's Consultative Group seeks a communiqué from
the Assam Government on the stalled peace process with the outfit.
-
October 14: The ULFA kills a trader's son, Ghanashyam
Maheswari, at Machkhowa in the Dhemaji district for his refusal
to pay ransom to the outfit.
-
October 12: The Union Ministry of Home Affairs submits
to Myanmar's Government a list of 15 militant camps run on its soil
by the outfits, including ULFA.
-
October 11: The ULFA triggers an IED explosion blowing
up a security convoy and injuring security force personnel at an
unspecified place near Dasaijan village in the Tinsukia district.
-
October 9: A bicycle borne-ULFA militant hurls a
grenade injuring one person at a crowded shopping place at Digboi
in the Tinsukia district.
-
October 8: Two motorcycle-borne ULFA militants,
Simanta Bora and Baikuntha Gogoi, hurl a hand grenade at the Amguri
police station in the Sibsagar district.
A civilian, Lakhi Das, was injured and the building of the police
station was partially damaged. The duo were arrested in the subsequent
search operation.
-
October 8: An ULFA cadre, Keshab Saikia alias Kachu,
is injured in an encounter with security force personnel at Hilloidhari
village in the Dibrugarh district. An electronic detonator, 500
gm of TNT explosives and incriminating documents were seized from
the injured militant. However, the two militants managed to escape
from the encounter site.
-
October 7: An IED is exploded by the ULFA at Borhat
Sibsagar district. However, no casualty was reported in the incident.
A grenade is hurled at Tengakhat police station in the Dibrugarh
district. However, no one is injured in the incident. Later, two
persons, Diganta Sonowal and Bhupen Sonowal, were arrested from
the nearby Langri Borhulla village in connection with the grenade
attack.
-
October 6: A ULFA 'corporal', identified as Debojit,
is killed by SF personnel in a counter-insurgency operation at an
unspecified place in the Sibsagar district.
-
October 5: Four civilians and three police constables
are injured in a grenade blast triggered by two motorcycle-borne
ULFA militants targeting a security convoy in front of the Doomdooma
police station in the Tinsukia district.
-
October 5: Two other motorcycle-borne ULFA militants
hurl a hand grenade at Namrup police station in the Dibrugarh district
in a simultaneous attack. The compound wall of the police station
was partially damaged.
The Central Intelligence Wing submits to the Army a list of at least
25 ULFA cadres, who have taken shelter at various places of upper
Assam, most of them belonging to the '28th battalion' of the outfit,
and all of them are equipped with sophisticated arms and explosives,
including assault rifles of AK-56, AK-57, AK-47, along with other
communication gadgets. The list includes Jiban Moran, Jiten Dutta,
Probal Neog, Bijoy Chinese, Ujjal Gohain, Poresh Majhi, Jun Bhuyan,
Rubul Sarma, Pranjal Saikia, Dibakar Moran and Aagan Barua.
-
October 4: Two ULFA collaborators, Ghanakanta Hazarika
and Sashidhar Hazarika, are arrested by the North Lakhimpur police
from Badhakara area.
-
October 4: Across Assam, wine shops remain open
throughout the day, defying a 'directive' of the ULFA to open liquor
outlets only after 7 pm on weekdays. "For all practical purposes,
we are running the business on behalf of the government, which has
given us licence to do so. We cannot open or close as we like. If
we do so, our licences can get cancelled," said Alok Datta, the
general secretary of the All Assam India-made Foreign Liquor Retailers'
Association.
-
October 1: The ULFA triggers a hand grenade blast
targeting police personnel at Nalanipalam in the Dhemaji district.
While the grenade attack fails to hit its intended target, a male
child, Debabrata Dhingia, is killed, and at least 20 persons are
wounded.
-
September 29: Suspected ULFA militants trigger a
grenade explosion injuring eight persons at a shopping place, the
Central Plaza market complex, in the Tinsukia city. Two vehicles
are also damaged in the blast.
-
September 29: Suspected ULFA militants use a powerful
bomb to blow up a portion of the Oil India Limited (OIL) pipeline
at Salbari under Tingkhong police station in the Dibrugarh district.
OIL spokesperson Phanindra Dev Choudhury said, "It was a 10-inch
gas distribution pipeline and our workers were on the job throughout
the night to repair the damaged facility. The extent of the damage
is yet to ascertained.”
-
September 29: Police recover and defuse a powerful
bomb planted by the ULFA in a dustbin on the busy Plaza-Assam trunk
road in Tinsukia town.
-
September 28: At least six persons, including two
SF personnel, are wounded in an IED explosion triggered by the ULFA
at a shopping place at Digboi in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 27: Suspected ULFA cadres trigger a grenade
explosion targeting SF personnel at Kundil in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 27: An encounter between Army and ULFA
militants is reported from an unspecified area in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 27: The ULFA-backed PCG pulls out from
the peace talks with the Union Government. The PCG spokesperson,
Aroop Borbora, said: “we feel that due to the attitude of the Government,
which made a complete summersault on the assurances given earlier,
holding of further parleys with the Government would not serve any
purpose.”
-
September 27: A decomposed dead body of a suspected
ULFA cadre was recovered from a drain at Bordumsa in the Changlang
district of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
September 25: A ULFA cadre, Mohipal Moran, is killed
and five soldiers wounded during an encounter at Borpathar under
Pengeri police station limits in the Tinsukia district. A 9 mm Chinese
pistol, five rounds of 9mm ammunition, seven rounds of AK-47 ammunition,
a hand grenade and cash worth INR 50,000 are recovered from the
slain militant. Two ULFA cadres are arrested following the incident.
-
September 25: The ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa
has stated that his outfit is not bothered about the breakdown of
the cease-fire. "We don't want a truce and instead committed to
ending the war. The government of India's ceasefire announcement
in August was nothing but a drama enacted by them," Rajkhowa stated.
-
September 25: Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi offers
the ULFA leadership one more chance to meet their jailed leaders.
"I can allow the ULFA leadership, if they want to consult the jailed
leaders on the peace process. I have no problems if it leads to
bringing peace in the state," he says.
-
September 25: The ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Barua warns all ‘Indians living in the North-east’ to pay taxes
to the outfit and also appeals to the local inhabitants to contribute
according to their means to the outfit’s coffers.
-
September 24: The Union Government declares resumption
of counter-insurgency operations against the ULFA in Assam, after
the deadline for suspension of operation against the outfit expires
on September 20. A statement issued by the Union Ministry of Home
Affairs (MHA) says that the ‘suspension of operations’ against the
outfit is called off ‘with effect from today’. The statement adds,
“Operations had been suspended some time back because of the possibility
of direct talks with Ulfa towards (the) peace process. However,
efforts for pursuing the peace process by the government will continue.”
-
September 24: A ‘corporal’ of the ULFA, Diganta
Baruah alias Bitupan Baruah, is killed in an encounter with SF personnel
at Mazmamoroni near Lekhapani under Digboi police station in the
Tinsukia district. However, another injured militant manages to
escape from the encounter site. Further, nine Army personnel and
a civilian, Dwipen Baruah, are also injured in the encounter.
-
September 23: The ULFA kills a tea estate manager
in Assam. Police said four ULFA cadres shot dead Haren Das, a manager
of the Hailanga tea estate in front of his residence, in Digboi
town. The attack comes a day after the Union Government indicated
that military operations against the outfit could resume.
-
September 22: ULFA militants kill police personnel,
Ranjit Sonowal, at Than Gaon village under Barbaruah police station
in the Dibrugarh district. The militants opened fire on police personnel,
who were searching for an extortionist belonging to the outfit,
identified as Debu Dutta.
-
September 22: National Security Advisor M. K. Narayanan
conveys to the ULFA-backed PCG member Indira Goswami that the Union
Government will not extend the suspension of counter-insurgency
operations against the outfit in Assam without receiving a written
commitment from it on holding direct peace talks.
-
September 20: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi states
that the ULFA is yet to refrain from carrying out its extortion
activities.
-
September 17: According to Intelligence Bureau (IB)
sources, at least four training camps are run along the India-Bhutan
border where ULFA cadres are getting trained by the LTTE in carrying
out suicide attacks.
-
September 16: At least INR 16, 00,000 is recovered
from the possession of two suspected ULFA cadres, identified as
Ramzan Ali and Bablu Deka alias Niberan Deka, who were arrested
from Mawiong in the East Khasi Hills district of Meghalya.
-
September 12: The ULFA seeks time till September
20 to respond to the Union Government’s demand for a formal letter
before carrying forward the negotiations.
-
September 7: Army officials state that the ULFA
cadres are involved in extortion, despite the suspension of counter-insurgency
operations against the outfit.
-
September 5: The suspension of counter-insurgency
operations against the ULFA is extended till September 15. The extension
is announced by the Union Home Secretary, V. K. Duggal, following
a meeting with the ULFA-backed People’s Consultative Group (PCG)
members, Indira Goswami and Rebati Phukan, in New Delhi.
-
September 5: The National Security Adviser M. K.
Narayanan denies any step on part of the Union Government to unilaterally
release five arrested ULFA leaders. Before holding a meeting with
the ULFA-backed PCG members, Narayanan says, "Let them come for
talks first."
-
September 3: The Union Government decides to convene
an inter-ministerial meeting to discuss the peace process in Assam,
following the ULFA’s refusal to give a written commitment on direct
talks with the Government.
-
September 3: Assam Chief Minister, Tarun Gogoi,
while making a case for a direct communication between the Government
and the outfit, says that more civilians than militants are killed
in the State since the ULFA constituted the PCG to negotiate on
its behalf.
-
August 31: The ULFA in a communiqué assures the Union Government
that five of its jailed leaders will not abscond, once they are
released. A letter written by ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua
is delivered to Union Home Secretary V.K. Duggal by mediator Indira
Goswami.
-
August 30: Union Home Secretary V.
K. Duggal says that the Union Government is expecting a response
from the ULFA, before the suspension of counter-insurgency operation
expires on September 5. “They have time until September 5 and we
expect a response before that,” said Duggal.
-
August 28: The Border Security Force
demands deportation of ULFA ‘general secretary’ Anup Chetia, and
other leaders from Bangladesh at the bi-annual meeting with the
Bangladesh Rifles in Shillong, the capital of Meghalaya.
-
August 24: Meghalaya DGP, W. R. Marbaniang,
says that counter-insurgency operations against the ULFA will continue
in the State, despite the suspension of Army operations by the Union
Government in Assam. “We have taken care of ourselves and the army
is only assisting us in (counter-insurgency operations). In 99 per
cent cases, the state police are doing the job,” says the DGP.
-
August 24: The Union Government seeks
a written assurance from the ULFA to come for peace talks as a condition
for the release of its five arrested leaders. The Government asks
the outfit to announce its team for negotiations and to specify
a timeframe to start direct talks. However, the outfit rejects such
conditions set by the Government.
-
August 23: The Union Government decides
to extend the suspension of counter-insurgency operations against
the ULFA by 15 days. A decision to this effect is taken at the meeting
between the Government and the ULFA-backed PCG to decide modalities
for direct negotiation with the outfit. While the National Security
Adviser M. K. Narayanan and officials from the Union Ministry of
Home Affairs represent the Government, the PCG is represented by
Indira Goswami and Rebati Phukan. "As of now, we have decided to
extend the suspension of the army operations against ULFA for 15
days," says the Union Home Secretary V. K. Duggal.
-
August 21: The Union Government asks
the ULFA backed-PCG members to stand for personal guarantee for
the release of five arrested leaders of the ULFA.
-
August 19: The ULFA denies that it
had declared a unilateral cease-fire. The outfit’s ‘chairman’ Arabinda
Rajkhowa says that the ULFA will exercise ‘restraint’ in response
to the Union Government’s suspension of security operations against
its cadres. Rajkhowa says, “We will exercise restraint in response
to the government's announcement to suspend operation and we will
try our best to maintain our restraint.” He also urges all concerned
“not to create confusion by quoting statements not made by the ULFA
on serious issues concerning the people.”
-
August 15: The ULFA along with KLO,
MPLF, NLFT and TPDF, in a joint statement, calls upon the people
of the North East region to boycott the Independence Day celebration
and also calls a 12-hour general strike.
-
August 14: Three persons, including
a woman and her son, are killed and seven others sustain injuries
when suspected ULFA militants trigger a grenade explosion targeting
security convoys near Lifecare Nursing Home at Duliajan town in
the Dibrugarh district.
-
August 14: A grenade explosion is triggered
at Makum Petrol Depot in the Tinsukia district.
-
August 14: Assam Chief Minister Tarun
Gogoi, while asking the ULFA to abjure violence and extremism, says
that difficult issues can be resolved only through dialogue and
negotiations. He mentions that the Union Government is doing its
best to create an atmosphere where direct talks can be held with
the outfit. “Peace and progress is the need of the hour, without
which commerce, industry or trade can never take root in the State.
Terror and violence must be removed if problems like lack of development
and unemployment are to be resolved,” says the Chief Minister.
-
August 13: The Union Government decides
to halt all operations by security forces against the ULFA for a
few days. Union Home Secretary V. K. Duggal says, “We have advised
army and other security forces in Assam to suspend their operations
against ULFA for a few days.” He further says, “However, this does
not mean that if they resort to any misadventure that will not be
replied back. Appropriate action will be taken.” The decision comes
days ahead of a crucial meeting between the representatives of the
Union Government and mediators appointed by the outfit in New Delhi
to discuss modalities for initiation of direct peace talks.
-
August 13: The ULFA has set up three
camps in the Sandrup Jhongkar district of Bhutan, after its cadres
were driven out by a counter–insurgency operation in December 2003.
According to the report, Hira Sarania, a top leader believed to
be close to the outfit’s ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Barua, is heading
the cadres operating from these camps.
-
August 12: A woman, Jongli Devi, is
killed and eight persons wounded in a grenade explosion, suspected
to have been triggered by the ULFA, at Bamunimaidan locality in
Guwahati. Additional Superintendent of Police, Rajen Singh, says
that the blast occurred around 7.20 p.m. in the Bamunimaidan railway
colony area. The blast occurs amidst heightened security measures
in the city with police and para-military forces intensifying patrolling
to foil sabotage attempts by the ULFA militants, who have called
for a boycott of the Independence Day celebrations on August 15.
-
August 11: Six police personnel are killed after
suspected ULFA militants ambush a police convoy at Ratanipathar
under Pengeri police station in the Tinsukia district.
While five personnel are killed at the incident site, another succumbs
to injuries in the Assam Medical College Hospital.
-
August 10: The ULFA along with KLO, MPLF, NLFT,
TPDF in a joint statement call upon the people of the North East
region to boycott the Independence Day celebration and also jointly
call a 12-hour general strike for August 15.
According to official sources, there has been some movement of ULFA
cadres in Garo Hills since the last few months.
The outfit's cadres cross into Bangladesh from West Garo Hills plain
belt areas and enter into Assam from the Tikrikilla, Rongsai, Bajengdoba
and Mendipather areas.
-
August 8: At least four new training camps of the
ULFA were reportedly found along the India-Bhutan border in the
Nalbari district.
Arunachal Pradesh Police arrest five persons, Nuney Tayang, Nakul
Chai, Dwarika Meso, Surendra Singh and Makhan Hazarika, from Lohit
district for helping the ULFA.
While four of them are office bearers of the State Congress, another
one is a relative of a leader of the party.
-
August 7: An unidentified person is killed and 15
others, including four Central Reserve Police Force personnel and
a child, are injured when ULFA militants explode a grenade at Digboi
Chariali in the Tinsukia district.
-
August 6: Two unidentified ULFA militants are killed
when a grenade, they were carrying, explodes at Mission Chariali
near Defence Theater in the Tezpur district. Several persons are
also wounded in the explosion.
Eight paramilitary force personnel are wounded when suspected ULFA
militants hurl a grenade at a Central Reserve Police Force patrol
party near Bhojo railway station under Charaideo subdivision in
the Sivasagar district. A hardware shop owner, Sanjay Agarwal, is
shot at and wounded by suspected ULFA militants at Gaurisagar Tiniali
in the Sivasagar district.
A ULFA militant, Sundar Chetia, who is arrested from Tinsukia district,
confesses during interrogation that he has been extorting money
ranging from Rupees 50,000 to Rupees 1 00, 000 annually for the
past three years and sending them to Ujjwal Gohain, ‘finance controller
of the 28 battalion’ of the outfit.
-
August 5: At least 15 persons are injured when suspected
ULFA militants trigger a grenade blast at Jonai in Dhemaji district.
-
August 4: A grenade is triggered by ULFA cadres,
targeting a security convoy, killing one SF personnel, Manoj Kumar,
and injuring two others at Dhelakhat in the Tinsukia district.
-
August 3: The National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan
informs the peace interlocutor Indira Goswami that the Union Government
is seeking a formal letter from the outlawed ULFA for the release
of its five arrested leaders as well as for direct peace talks.
"The government wants a formal letter from the ULFA seeking the
release of the five jailed leaders and giving consent to sit for
direct talks,” says Goswami in New Delhi.
-
August 1: A hardcore United Liberation Front of
Asom (ULFA) cadre, ‘sergeant major’ Rajen Dutta, is killed during
an encounter with the SF personnel at Tamulbari in the Dibrugarh
district. An AK-47 rifle, a mobile phone, three SIM cards and cash
worth INR 1,000 are recovered from the incident site.
-
July 31: Four ULFA cadres are shot dead in two separate
encounters with SF personnel in the Nalbari district. While, two
militants, Bhupen Lahkar and Hemanta Deka, are killed at Arora village,
two others, including one identified as Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya alias
Kaushik Sarma, are shot dead at Dhaniagog village on the bank of
the river Pagladia.
-
July 31: An ULFA cadre is arrested following the
encounter at Arora village. A cache of arms and explosives, including
one 9 mm pistol, 3 Chinese grenades, and 3 rounds of live ammunition,
is also recovered from the two encounter sites.
-
July 31: An ULFA leader, Mridul Hazarika alias Bhaskar
Barua, who was a prime accused in the Sanjoy Ghosh murder case of
1997, is shot dead by police personnel in an encounter at Khanakrishnapur
village under Gogamukh police station in the Dhemaji district. While
two other militants, Anil Basumatari alias Gadapani and Bhaben Sonowal
alias Biplab Kachari, surrender, a cache of arms and explosives
is recovered from the encounter site. Sanjoy Ghosh, who worked with
the NGO Avard-NE, was abducted and subsequently killed by the ULFA
in July 1997.
-
July 29: The ULFA communicates to the
Union Home Ministry that its precondition for direct peace talks
with the Union Government is release of the five leaders — all members
of the Central Committee, ULFA's highest decision-making body —
jailed at Guwahati in Assam. The communication to the Home Secretary
Vinod Kumar Duggal is sent through the peace interlocutor Indira
Goswami, who belongs to the ULFA-backed People's Consultative Group
(PCG).
-
July 28: An unidentified civilian is
killed by ULFA militants at Sadiya in the North Lakimpur district,
while a cadre of the outfit is shot dead in an encounter with SF
personnel inside a hotel at Margherita town in the Tinsukia district.
July 26: The peace interlocutor belonging to the People’s Consultative
Group (PCG), Indira Goswami, conveys to the Union Home Secretary,
V. K. Duggal, refusal of ULFA to name its representatives for direct
peace talks with the Union Government unless its five arrested leaders
are released ahead of the talks.
-
July 25: The Union Minister of State
for Home Affairs, S. Raghupathy, informs the Lower House of the
Parliament that available reports and confession of arrested ULFA
cadres indicate links of the outfit with the Inter-Services Intelligence
(ISI), the external intelligence agency of Pakistan.
-
July 24: A group of women cadres of
the ULFA manage to escape following an encounter with SF personnel
at Khowji village in the Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh.
-
July 19: The Union Government asks
the ULFA to establish direct contact with the government without
which, it says, there will be no scope for the proposed peace process
to move forward. “The ULFA must communicate their demands, including
release of jailed leaders, in black and white directly to the Centre
for the peace process to proceed further,” the Union Home Secretary
V.K. Duggal tells interlocutor Mamoni Raisom Goswami. Goswami says
from New Delhi that the Union Home Secretary informs her that ULFA
must make direct contact with the Government and place their demands
instead of communicating through intermediaries. Only then can their
demands be considered.
-
July 18: Troops of the Red Horn Division
stationed at Dhubri neutralise a fake currency racket besides arresting
two ULFA linkmen and recover one pistol and some live ammunition
from Dingdinga village under Tamarhat police station limits in the
Kokrajhar district.
-
July 16: A ULFA cadre, Pradip Das,
is arrested from Hatigaon area in Guwahati city. Several incriminating
documents and six batteries used in Improvised Explosive Devices
(IEDs) are recovered from his possession. Assam’s Director General
of Police, Deepak Dutta, informs that, while the ULFA is planning
a major attack in any of the four lower Assam districts in ‘retaliation’
to the killing of its cadres, the Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), intends
to attack the Guwahati railway station soon. “The ULFA is planning
a major attack in retaliation to the killing of its six cadres in
any of the districts of Kamrup, Baska, Nalbari and Barpeta,” says
the Director General of Police.
-
July 13: Meghalaya Police suspects
that the ULFA leader Rubul Ali, who was killed in the July 11 encounter
in Garo Hills, is a linkman of the Pakistani ISI. "The ULFA-ISI
nexus has been going on for quite long time and it is suspected
that the ISI has been providing assistance to the ULFA in term of
arms, training and funds," said police sources.
-
July 12:Two kilograms of ivory worth
over INR 100,000 are recovered from a ULFA linkman, Bolin Dutta,
who was arrested by the Army Intelligence personnel at unspecified
place under Dhola police station in the Tinsukia district. According
to official sources, besides aiding the activities of the outfit,
Dutta was also involved in smuggling forest produce from Paglam
in Arunachal Pradesh. The ULFA-backed People’s Consultative Group
threatens to pull out of the peace process with the Union government,
following the July 11 killing of six ULFA cadres in Assam and Meghalaya.
-
July 11: Four ULFA cadres, identified
as Rubul Ali, Prabal Dutta, Rudra Barua and Dulu Kalita, are killed
by the troops during an encounter at Tinfa village under Mendipathar
police station in the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya. While
three ULFA cadres were arrested, a cache of arms and explosives,
including one AK rifle, four grenades, pistol, several rounds of
ammunition, along with INR 40,000 were recovered from the incident
site. Two ULFA cadres, Pradip Rajbangshi and Mrinal Rajbangshi,
are killed in an encounter with the SFs at Baglamari village in
the Nalbari district. Two 9 mm pistols, three Chinese grenades,
8 rounds of live ammunition, a radio set and cash worth INR 30,000
were recovered from their possession.
-
July 7: Police arrests two militants
of the ULFA and a linkman of the outfit from Birubari locality of
the Guwahati city in connection with the outfit’s extortion demand
of INR 15 Lakhs on the Reserve Bank of India regional director Amarendra
Sahu. The arrested militants were identified as Mantu Bezbarua and
Gautam Sarania alias Rahul Deka. Police also recovered a grenade
form their possession.
-
July 3: The ULFA ‘serves’ an extortion
note of Rupees 150 milion to the Regional Director of the Reserve
Bank of India in Guwahati. The letter is signed, on June 25, by
an ULFA ‘commander’, Hira Sarania, who is allegedly involved in
several extortion acts in the past.
-
July 1: The ULFA expresses its willingness
to hold ‘direct talks’ with the Union Government at the earliest.
-
June 26: Two ULFA cadres, Paban Gayan
and Manaj Baruah, are arrested from Deopani under Bokajan police
station.
-
June 23: A student of the Guwahati
University, Rinku Basumatary, wounded in the June 9 ULFA triggered
explosion at Machkhowa in Guwahati city, succumbs to his injuries.
-
June 16: The Union Ministry of Home
Affairs objects to the ULFA's plea for releasing its five leaders.
The Cabinet Committee on Security, while discussing the issue at
New Delhi, is of the view that the outfit should give up violence,
surrender arms and should adopt an honest approach to peace before
such a step can be taken.
A frontal organization of the ULFA, Assam Watch, is operating in
the United Kingdom. Mukul Hazarika, is the co-ordinator of the Assam
Watch. Intelligence sources say that Assam Watch sponsored ULFA's
chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa and general secretary, Anup Chetia,
to attend a meeting of the United Nations Sub-Commission's Working
Group on Indigenous People at Geneva in July 1997, while Interpol
had issued a Red Corner Alert notice against the top leadership
of the outfit for its involvement in the abduction and killing of
Sanjoy Ghose of the Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural
Development- North East (AVARD-North East).
-
June 15: Four ULFA cadres, identified
as Bijoy Kalita, Rudra Barua, Hemanta Kalita and Kamal Ahmed, in
a letter sent to local media persons, say that they are planning
to float a new outfit to continue their "revolution" under
the leadership of one self-styled 'captain' of the outfit. They,
quoting a letter reportedly written by the ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda
Rajkhowa, say the outfit's chief is planning to liquidate them.
They further said several ULFA leaders, including Bening Rava, Abhijit
Deka and Nilu Chakravarty, who the outfit claims have gone missing
following the Army's counter insurgency operations in Bhutan, were
killed on Rajkhowa's orders.
Assam Police says that following the formation of the ULFA - backed
People's Consultative Group on September 8 in 2005, the ULFA militants
have triggered off as many as 52 blasts, majority of those were
in late January and early part of February and again from June 8
to 12 in 2006. The reports further said that at least 41 civilians
are killed and 135 are injured in ULFA's violence since September
8, 2005. During the same period, the outfit attacked the security
force personnel on 15 occasions in which six are killed, while 41
are injured. During the same period, the security forces are engaged
in encounters with the ULFA cadres on 20 occasions, in which 21
militants are killed and 48 are arrested. The sources further pointed
out that in the first five and half months of 2006, as many as 29
civilians are killed, as compared to the death of 20 civilians and
injury of 78 in 2005. The fatality figure among the security personnel
in ULFA's violence in 2005 is six.
-
June 14: A civilian, Monoj Gogoi, who
was wounded in the June 12 blast triggered by the ULFA at Digboi
town in the Tinsukia district, succumbs to his injuries.
Two ULFA extortionists, Paresh Das and Moinul alias Islam, are arrested
by the Guwahati city police during separate search operations from
Basistha and Garigaon areas in the Kamrup district.
-
June 13: A ULFA cadre, identified as
Phulen Nath alias Kamal Barman alias Pintu Das, is killed in an
encounter with the police at Kamalnagar atop Narakasur Hill under
Dispur police station in the Kamrup district. While two other militants
manage to escape from the incident site, the owner of the residence,
Bhaben Rabha, is arrested on charges of harbouring ULFA cadres.
A cache of arms and explosives, including one unexploded grenade,
24 detonators, fuse wires, one 7.62-bore Pakistani-made pistol and
four rounds of ammunition, are recovered from the encounter site.
According to police sources, the slain militant is involved in the
June-9 blast at Machkhowa in the Guwahati city in which five persons
died.
Assam's Director General of Police D. N. Dutt confirms that the
ULFA is involved in all the recent blasts in the State, following
the denial of the outfit of its involvement. He says, "All
the inputs we have point to the fact that the militants belonging
to the ULFA were behind the recent blasts. For a very long time,
we had the inputs that the ULFA was planning to explode a series
of bombs from June 9 to 11 and they started a day ahead."
-
June 11: A security force personnel,
identified as Bircharan Singh, who is among the three injured in
the ULFA's grenade attack on a patrolling vehicle at Makum in the
Tinsukia district, succumbs to his injuries.
Suspected ULFA cadres blow up a railway track between Borhat and
Baruahnagar railway stations in the Sibsagar district. Rail links
between Upper Assam and the rest of the country are snapped for
several hours following the blast.
-
June 10: Suspected ULFA militants
trigger two more blasts in the Guwahati city killing one person
and injuring 19 others. Inspector-General of Police (Special Branch)
Khagen Sharma informs that suspected ULFA militants lobbed a grenade
targeting a police post at Bamunimaidam area in which two police
personnel are injured. Another blast occurred under the Ganeshguri
flyover close to the Dispur capital complex killing one person and
wounding 17 others.
The ULFA denies its hand in the six bomb blasts in which civilians
are injured, but owns up three blasts on the oil and gas pipelines
at Naharkatia, Digboi and Chabua. In a statement, ULFA chief Paresh
Baruah claims the blasts in Guwahati, Dhubri, Mangaldoi, Haibargaon,
Golokganj and Doomdooma are "masterminded by Inspector-General
of Police (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma and the forces opposed
to peace talks between the Centre and the outfit." Baruah says
the attacks on the pipelines are carried out in protest against
the tightening of security around oil installations, which is to
"facilitate the plundering of Assam's natural resources."
-
June 9: At least five persons, including
a 10-year-old boy and a woman, are killed and 16 persons wounded
in a powerful explosion triggered by the ULFA at Machkowa vegetable
market in the Guwahati city of Kamrup district. Senior Superintendent
of Police Nitul Gogoi said that the bombs, believed to have been
planted in a vegetable basket, have exploded at 4.20 pm at the wholesale
vegetable market when it was at its busiest moment.
-
June 8:The ULFA triggers a series of
grenade explosions at various parts of the State leaving at least
25 persons wounded. While six persons are injured in a blast at
Haiborgaon in the Nagaon district, another is injured when militants
trigger a blast at Islampur Chowk in the Mangaldoi district.
-
June 5: A civilian, Dilip Das, is shot
dead by the ULFA cadres at Sonapur Chowk under Kamalpur police station
in the Kamrup (rural) district. The militants were targeting a SULFA
cadre, Narayan Das, in the incident.
-
May 23: A clandestine meeting of the
ULFA leaders is held somewhere near Alipurduar in the Jaipalguri
district of West Bengal at the end of May. Intelligence Bureau officials
indicated that many ULFA cadres have reportedly landed at Siliguri.
-
May 21: Two ULFA militants, senior
leader Bijay Kalita and linkman Subrata Paul, are arrested from
Siliguri in the Jaipalguri district of West Bengal.
-
May 20: A senior engineer of the state-owned
OIL is released after being abducted by unidentified terrorists
a day earlier. An OIL spokesman said K. Mohan Rao, a drilling engineer,
was abducted while he was going from the company headquarters at
Duliajan to a remote installation.
-
May 18: The Union Government confirms
that the outlawed ULFA has sent to the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation
a demand note of Rupees Five billion. The Union Minister of State
for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dinsha Patel, said in the Parliament
that there have been four disruptive incidents by the ULFA resulting
in minor damage to the property of ONGC in the recent past.
An unidentified ULFA cadre was arrested from Siliguri in the Jalpaiguri
district of West Bengal.
-
May 17: Four ULFA cadres, including
‘commanding officer’ Mrinal Hazarika, Jagat Barua, Mahesh Gupta
and Pradip, are arrested at Siliguri in the Jalpaiguri district
of West Bengal. Inspector-General of Police (North Bengal) K. L.
Meena says that several documents, an active satellite telephone,
two mobile phones with Assam Telecom Circle numbers, an improvised
pistol with a few bullets, Rupees 20,370 in Indian currency and
Rupees 13 in Nepali currency were seized from their possession.
-
May 14: An ULFA cadre, ‘corporal’ Puspa
Borah alias Sanchar Chetia, who had surrendered along with a pistol,
two magazines, 16 rounds of ammunition and a Chinese hand grenade,
before the Superintendent of Police of the Udalguri district on
May 13, is found dead inside the lock-up of the district police
station. According to police sources, Puspa Borah committed suicide.
-
May 10: Five ULFA cadres, ‘sergeant
major’ Jagadish Mahanta alias Rajesh Sarma, ‘corporal’ Ameer Hussain
alias Raj Ahmed, Pradeep K. Barman alias Control, Dinesh Sarkar
alias Mithun and Purno Roy alias Purni, surrender before Colonel
M.K. Das and Additional Superintendent of Police Umar Ali at Dhubri
district. They deposited an AK-47 rifle, three 9 mm revolvers and
45 rounds of ammunition.
-
May 9: Two SF personnel, Rubul Ali
and Dhruba Borsaikia, are killed in an ambush by the ULFA at a place
near the Borahibari railway station in Sivasagar district. Five
persons including the former State Transport Minister and senior
AGP leader Pradip Hazarika are wounded in the attack. Hazarika has
figured in ULFA’s list of ‘conspirators’ in the ‘secret killings’,
the outfit recently claims, that has taken place during the AGP
regime. Twenty five empty shells of AK-47 ammunition are recovered
from the incident site.
-
May 8: Unidentified militants shot
at and wounded a SULFA cadre, Jayanta Maran, at his residence in
Nalani in the Tinsukia district.
-
May
2: An unidentified ‘leader’ of the ULFA along with two Delhi-based
sex workers, who were arrested from Guwahati in the Kamrup district,
are remanded to ten days of police custody by a local court. Additional
Police Chief of Guwahati Rajen Singh, while describing the use of
sex workers by the ULFA as baits to extort and abduct businessmen
in the State, said, "This is the latest modus operandi of the
ULFA - luring businessmen with the help of call girls and then extorting
money from them."
-
April 24: The Public Works Department
chief engineer, Suren Das, who was abducted and later released by
the ULFA, is in a stage of coma due to cerebral malaria. Das has
started suffering from cerebral malaria while in captivity.
-
April 21: Unidentified assailants kill
two surrendered ULFA militants, Lolit Moran and his wife Momi Moran,
at Gotong village under Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia
district. Both the low-rung ULFA cadres had surrendered to the army
in 2004. Police sources said that a group ULFA militants led by
Tedho Moran alias Rocket, who are active in the area, are suspected
to be responsible for the killing.
-
April 8: Security forces arrest a linkman
of the ULFA, Pradip Doley, from his house at Madhya Lakhipur under
Jonai police station in the Dhemaji district. An AK-56 Rifle, 160
rounds of ammunition, two magazines and a motorcycle are recovered
from his residence. Two of his accomplices, however, manage to escape.
-
April 4: An ULFA militant, Bhubaneswar
Haloi, surrenders before the army personnel near Bihuguri in the
Sonitpur district.
-
April 1: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
said that the process initiated by the Union Government to restore
peace in Assam will be expedited, but rules out talks with the ULFA
on the "sovereignty" issue. Dr. Singh, who arrived in Assam on a
two-day election campaign, told a press conference in Guwahati that
negotiations would be held within the constitutional framework.
"The ULFA may raise the issue during talks but that does not mean
all issues are open to negotiation," he says. "Doors will be open
to all those who shun violence. Two rounds of talks have been held
with certain groups [the discussion with the ULFA-formed People's
Consultative Group] and we will accelerate the peace process," he
added.
-
March 31: Three ULFA cadres along with
one KLNLF activist surrendered before the army at Diphu in the Karbi
Anglong district. ULFA cadres, Indra Prasad Barua, Lakhi Prashad
Nath alias Raj Deka and Parag Hazarika, also deposited an AK 47
rifle, two magazines, 67 rounds of cartridges and four hand grenades.
-
March 31: The ULFA chief, Arabinda
Rajkhowa, in an electronic message calls on the people of Assam
not to vote for any party that has not made any commitment on resolving
the “Asom-India political conflict”. He said, “The people should
only vote for politics that would ensure sovereignty for Asom.”
-
March 29: The police recover four grenades,
an AK series rifle, 30 rounds of live ammunition, a magazine, a
9-V battery, some electronic gadgets and incriminating documents
following an encounter with suspected ULFA militants at Satakona
under Dudhnoi police station in the Goalpara district. The militants,
however, managed to escape and police subsequently arrested two
linkmen of the outfit, Sanjit Barsund and Lokesh Sangma.
-
March 28: Suspected ULFA cadres abduct
Abhisek Agarwal, the 25-year-old son of a biscuit factory-owner,
in the Tinsukia district after the businessman failed to meet a
deadline for payment of extortion money. The outfit has reportedly
launched a massive extortion drive in Upper Assam, primarily in
the Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts, targeting businessman and
Government employees.
-
March 18: A woman, identified as S.
Begum, is killed and 10 persons are injured in a ULFA triggered
bomb blast near the railway track at the Bamunimaidan rail yard
in Guwahati.
-
March 17: A SULFA cadre, identified
as Binod Baishya alias Jit Kalita, is shot dead by suspected ULFA
militants at Ghograpar in the Nalbari district.
-
March 9: The Guwahati city police put
several businessmen in the city under their scanner accusing them
of contributing large amounts to the ULFA. Police sources say that
the businessmen are paying the outfit via electronic money transfer
facility. A senior police official says that "During police questioning,
the businessmen admitted they had transferred money to towns such
as Hissar in Haryana and Anand in Gujarat after the ULFA issued
them instructions." The official also says the ULFA has stepped
up their extortion drive in the city after the peace process between
the Centre and the PCG begins in 2005. The outfit has collected
at least Rupees 30 lakh from the Dispur police division area alone.
He further says, "The amount will be much higher if the figures
of all the four police divisions are added up."
-
March 7: Mediator Indira Goswami said
that the third round of talks between the ULFA-constituted PCG and
Union Government will be held only after the Legislative Assembly
elections in Assam slated for April 3 and 10.
-
February 28: Suspected ULFA cadres
trigger a blast at the BG Yard near Bamunimaidan in Guwahati city
killing one civilian and injuring five others, including a woman.
-
February 25: A joint army-police team
arrests a ULFA cadre, Uday Bharali, from Taranigaon under Sadiya
police station in the Tinsukia district. A modified AK-47 rifle,
65 live ammunitions, a radio set and incriminating documents are
recovered from his possession.
-
February 21: Armed ULFA militants assault
four villagers and abduct an AGP activist, Brikudhar Doley, from
his residence at Kemi-Jelom village under Poba Reserve Forest in
the Dhemaji district recently.
-
February 13: Normal life is affected
in the State following a 12-hour general strike called by the ULFA
to protest against the killing of nine persons in police firing
and death of Ajit Mahanta during Army custody at Kakopathar in the
Tinsukia district. There are, however, no reports of any untoward
incident from any part of the State.
-
February 10: Police arrest five hardcore
ULFA militants from different parts of the Guwahati city for their
alleged involvement in a series of grenade attacks in the run-up
to the Republic Day celebrations on January 26. One M-20 pistol,
an Austria-made grenade, 13 rounds of ammunition and two magazines
are recovered from the arrested who were identified as Bubul Deka
alias Gajen Deka alias Mansur Ali, Chandan Baishya alias Prabin
Thakuria, Mohammad Piyar Hussain, Abdul Salam alias Hamid and Ratan
Sarkar.
-
February 10: Eight civilians and a
SF are killed during clashes between the villagers and SFs following
the alleged custodial death of a suspected United ULFA militant
at Kakopathar in upper Assam's Tinsukia district. The ULFA cadre,
whom the villagers describe as a civilian, was detained by the army
on February 6 and his dead body was subsequently recovered.
-
February 7: The Union Government and
the PCG agree, during a meeting at New Delhi, on a series of CBMs
to bring the ULFA to the negotiation table. A joint statement said
that the Government of India has agreed to examine and initiate
a series of CBMs with regard to human rights violations and to examine
the release of detained ULFA leaders in consultation with the State
Government.
-
February 7: Two ULFA militants, Swapan
Roy and Sabed Ali alias Hasinur, surrender before the BSF authorities
at Azadnagar in the Coochbehar district of West Bengal. The duo,
hailing from Rupasi village under Golakganj police station in Assam’s
Dhubri district, deposit two improvised explosive devices.
-
February 1: Counter insurgency targeting
ULFA is called off by Army in the outfit’s chief Paresh Baruah’s
native village, Jeraigaon, in the Dibrugarh district following demands
by the villagers. However, army authorities maintain that the operation
is “routine in nature” and is called off only because “the security
think tank felt it had served its purpose”.
-
February 1: Surrendered ULFA cadre,
Raju Chakraborty, is injured when a group of unidentified assailants
shoot at him at Salkocha under Chapar police station in the Dhubri
district.
-
January 24: A suspected ULFA militant
is killed and three others are injured in an explosion in the Ganeshguri
locality of Guwahati city. Police sources said that the ULFA militant,
Munin Das hailing from Ghograpar in the Nalbari district, was carrying
the explosive and traveling on foot to avoid the intensified checking
of vehicles by the security forces.
-
January 24: An IED is detonated by
suspected ULFA cadres at Chhaygaon circle office precincts causing
no casualty.
An ULFA cadre, Bhogeswar alias Debojit Bora, was arrested from Nagabat
Tinali under Borholla police station in the Jorhat district. Bora
is identified as a ‘lance corporal’ in the ‘28th battalion’ of the
outfit.
-
January 23: ULFA militants exploded
a grenade near the nail factory at Bengenakhowa in the Golaghat
district.
-
January 23: ULFA militants exploded
a hand grenade at Mayong police station in the Morigaon district.
-
January 22: ULFA cadres lobbed a grenade
targeting SF personnel near Gauhati Commerce College in the Guwahati
city injuring five SF personnel.
-
January 22: ULFA activists hurled a
grenade in front of the Assam Police Reserve at AT Road in the Guwahati
city killing a civilian.
-
January 22: ULFA militants detonated
an improvised explosive device (IED), planted in a requisitioned
bus, injuring three police personnel in Guwahati city.
-
January 22: One police personnel is
killed and five others sustain injuries in an encounter with ULFA
cadres at Ewarlangtha Gorgaon along the Assam-Nagaland border in
the Golaghat district.
-
January 22: ULFA triggers a blast in
the precincts of the Assam State Transport Corporation building
in Jorhat injuring a civilian.
-
January 22: Gas pipelines at Chetiapathar
under Chabua police station and Bokulia Chariali under Duliajan
police station are blown up by the ULFA.
-
January 22: A gas pipeline, running
through Lengri tea estate under Tengakhat police station in the
Dibrugarh district, is blown up by the ULFA.
-
January 22: ULFA cadres shot dead a
petrol pump owner at Sadiya township in the Tinsukia district.
-
January 22: ULFA militants lobbed a
grenade at a police patrol team on the Sessa bridge in the Dibrugarh
district injuring four police personnel.
-
January 22: ULFA cadres blew up a gas
pipeline near Bherbheri under Bordubi police station.
-
January 22: Guwahati city police arrests
seven ULFA cadres from the outskirts of the city and also recovered
a Chinese grenade from their possession.
-
January 21: ULFA militants blew up
a power tower of the North Eastern Electric Power Corporation at
Bhoju in the Sibsagar district.
-
January 21: ULFA militants blew up
a transformer at Konwar Gaon near Lakhimpur.
-
January 21: Three SF personnel are
wounded when ULFA cadres blew up a power transformer at Hindugaon
Tiniali.
-
January 21: A gas pipeline is blown
up by the ULFA at Mahmora Silgrant under Namrup police station in
the Dibrugarh district.
-
January 21: ULFA cadres shot dead a
trader, Iswar Chand Jain, at Sonari in the Sibsagar district.
-
January 21: ULFA cadres triggered a
blast on pipelines of the Oil India Ltd inside Rangali Reserve Forest
under Kakatibari police station in the Sibsagar district.
-
January 20: Ten persons, including
eight personnel of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF),
are injured in a grenade attack by the ULFA at the entrance of the
Guwahati Refinery at Noonmati in Guwahati city.
-
January 16: A ULFA militant is killed
in an encounter with the police at Santipur in the Tinsukia district.
-
January 15: Oil and Natural Gas Commission
(ONGC) intimates the Assam Government of an extortion letter served
by the ‘28th battalion’ of the ULFA on its corporate office at Nazira
in the Sibsagar district demanding Rupees 5000 million.
-
January 12: Suspected ULFA militants
attack a Royal Bhutanese Army patrol and kill an army guide near
village Gerwa in the southern district of Samdrup Jongkhar of Bhutan
bordering Assam.
-
January 2: ULFA ‘chairman’, Arabinda
Rajkhowa, in the outfit’s mouthpiece Freedom reacting to Chief Minister
Tarun Gogoi’s announcement of a safe passage for the outfit’s cadres
during the Bihu festivities said that the Union Government is playing
a ‘dangerous game’ by “talking of peace and unleashing the armed
forces on its unsuspecting cadre at the same time.”
-
January 1: Arabinda Rajkhowa rules
out holding direct peace talks with New Delhi unless the Government
released some of their senior jailed leaders.
2005
-
December 30: SULFA cadre, Biren Neog,
is killed in police firing at Digboi in the Tinsukia district.
-
December 27: Officer-in-charge of the
Nelli outpost and a ULFA cadre are killed in an encounter at Durapani
under Jagiroad police station in the Morigaon district.
-
December 22: Police dismantles a bomb-making
factory of the ULFA at Pushpawan village under Merapani police station
in the Golaghat district.
-
December 16: SULFA cadre Manikut Kalita
is killed by the ULFA at Dipila Chowk, about 18 kilometers away
from Mangaldoi town.
-
November 18: Two ULFA cadres are killed
in an encounter with the Army at Medhipara village under Bilasipara
police station in Dhubri district.
-
November 18: A SULFA cadre, Parikhit
Hazarika, abducted earlier by an unidentified group on November
17, is found with stab injuries at the Digboi-Pengeri road in the
Tinsukia district. Hazarika succumbs to his injuries at the district
civil hospital.
-
November 6: Three suspected ULFA cadres,
Buten Gogoi, Pradip Gohain and Divyajyoti Gohain, are arrested from
Rojabari under Chabua police station in the Dibrugarh district.
-
November 4: Two unidentified ULFA militants
are killed by the Army at Tekelipathar under Pengeri police station
in the Tinsukia district.
-
November 1: The ULFA, in its fortnightly
newsletter Freedom, greets the People’s Consultative Group for starting
the peace process with the Centre and raising the matter of sovereignty
in the meeting.
-
October 27: A ULFA cadre, ‘Lance corporal’
Meena Bokolial alias Meena Gogoi of the outfit’s ‘28th battalion’
and three other women cadres, Binita Hazarika, Monalisa Moran and
Khyanmanti Moran, are arrested by the Army at Dighalipathar in the
Philobari area of Tinsukia district.
-
October 26: A round of negotiations
between the Union Government and the ULFA-backed People’s Consultative
Group (PCG) is held in New Delhi.
-
October 25: Two ULFA terrorists, Chand
Barman alias Ritesh Saud and Surat Deka alias Rupjyoti, are killed
by the police at Mowamari Chapori in the Darrang district.
-
October 25: Security forces arrest
Nripen Sarma, chairperson of a women’s organisation Lovita, along
with two other members from the organization’s office at Chayygaon
in the Kamrup district on charges of having a nexus with the ULFA.
-
October 24: Suspected ULFA terrorists
kill a hotel employee, Pramode Singh, at Khowang in the Dibrugarh
district for non-payment of extortion money.
-
October 7: A ULFA cadre, Dulu Sonowal,
is shot dead during an encounter with the SFs at Jokai Sohikota
Tepuguri village in the Dibrugarh district.
-
October 1: ULFA, in its mouthpiece
Freedom, says that it would not start any negotiations with the
Government till the time Army operations against the outfit are
completely stopped.
-
September 29: The ULFA sends a formal
letter informing the Prime Minister's Office of the formation of
the People's Consultative Group.
-
September 26: Two ULFA terrorists,
Nilim Kumar and Hiren Dohotia, are killed by the Army at Dibru-Saikhowa
in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 23: A ULFA cadre, identified
as Azad Barua alias Swadhin Ray, is arrested from a flat in the
South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal.
-
September 20: The Army, during its
ongoing operations in the Dibru-Saikhowa reserve forest, kills a
ULFA 'battalion commander', Achintya Saikia, and one of his woman
associates in an encounter near Ajuka village.
-
September 19: Biju Chakravarti alias
Shailen Sharma, a senior ULFA cadre, is arrested along with his
wife from a locality near Amber Fort in Jaipur, capital city of
Rajasthan.
-
September 14: ULFA chairman Arabinda
Rajkhowa, in a press statement, says 12 of the outfit's cadres have
been killed in the army operations in the Dibru-Saikhowa forests.
Army authorities, however, deny this.
-
September 8: ULFA calls for a dawn-to-dusk
general strike in protest against “Government's negligence towards
the treatment of ULFA leader Robin Handique leading to his death.”
-
September 8: ULFA announces a 10-member
people's consultative group headed by mediator Indira Goswami to
enter into a dialogue with the Union Government.
-
August 31: Robin Handique, 'Political
Advisor' of the ULFA, dies at Kanaklata Civil Hospital following
kidney failure.
-
August 30: Two ULFA terrorists shoot
dead a school-teacher, Sukleswar Medhi, in front of the Balitara
High School in Nalbari district. A ULFA terrorist is killed in the
subsequent army operation in the same area.
-
August 30: Army launches an anti-insurgency
operation in the Dibru-Saikhowa reserve forest in Tinsukia district
in search of ULFA terrorists, Prabal Neog, Jiten Dutta and A. Saikia
of the '28th battalion'.
-
August 27: One person is killed and
14 others sustain injuries when ULFA cadres hurled two grenades
at a police party on the national highway at Changsari in the Kamrup
district.
-
August 22: C. Bora, a doctor, and two
nurses are arrested from Rupaisiding in the Tinsukia district for
alleged nexus with the ULFA. The doctor confesses of having treated
several ULFA cadres.
-
August 16: ULFA militants shot dead
a civilian at Khamti Mohang village under the Bordumsa Police Station
limits.
-
August 11: Six ULFA collaborators are
arrested from the Charigaon and Koronga areas of Jorhat district.
-
August 9: An activist of the human
rights organisation, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti, Benudhar Hazarika,
is arrested from Abhayapuri village under Borholla police station
in the Jorhat district for nexus with the ULFA.
-
August 7: Four persons are killed and
12 others sustain injuries in an explosion triggered by the ULFA
at a bus stand at Boko in the Kamrup district.
-
August 7: ULFA carries out a series
of explosions targeting army installations, oil and gas pipelines,
electric and telephone exchanges in the Nalbari, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh,
Jorhat, Tinsukia and Lakhimpur districts.
-
July 31: ULFA asks politicians from
New Delhi to keep away from campaigning in the Legislative Assembly
elections in early 2006. The outfit's chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa,
in an e-mail to the local media says, “The practice of inviting
leaders of national parties to the state, as if they were leaders
from Assam, and listening to their speeches must be stopped immediately.”
-
July 27: A ULFA terrorist and one Army
personnel are killed in an encounter at the 12-Mile area inside
Tinkupani reserve forest under Lekhapani police station in the Tinsukia
district.
-
July 26: Three ULFA cadres are killed
and another sustains injuries in an encounter with the Army personnel
between Jagun and Jairampur in the Sibsagar district.
-
July 18: Guwahati city police arrests
four ULFA linkmen from various parts of the city.
-
July 14: Suspected ULFA terrorists
trigger an explosion targeting a security forces’ vehicle inside
the Duramara Reserve Forest area under Pengeri Police Station in
Tinsukia district.
-
July 11: ULFA 'commander-in-chief'
Paresh Baruah, in a letter to the Prime Minister, threatens to ‘reconsider’
the option of negotiating with the Government if the dialogue process
does not focus on sovereignty for the State. The outfit further
says that any dialogue process could begin only after the release
of 10 of its leaders currently held in various jails in India, Bangladesh
and Bhutan.
-
June 26: Twelve persons, including
six CRPF personnel, are injured in an IED explosion triggered by
suspected ULFA terrorists in the Nine Mile area of Guwahati city.
Two persons succumb to their injuries subsequently.
-
June 24: A police officer, Puna Gogoi,
is killed by the ULFA at Talap Bazaar in the Tinsukia district.
-
June 22: Mojammel Haque, a ULFA 'commander',
is arrested from a hideout at Baxirhat in the Coochbehar district
of West Bengal.
-
June 22: Two unidentified ULFA cadres
are killed in an encounter with the police at Jonai in the Dhemaji
district.
-
June 20: Suspected ULFA terrorists
trigger a powerful explosion at the State Secretariat complex in
the capital Dispur.
-
June 19: Four ULFA terrorists and one
soldier are killed during two encounters in the Nalbari district.
-
June 16: Four ULFA terrorists, including
three woman cadres, are killed in an encounter with the police at
Doloni village under Khowang Police Station in the Dibrugarh district.
-
June 16: Ten ULFA cadres, including
‘sergeant major’ Amit Chandra Mandal, surrender before the Army
in Dhubri along with some arms and ammunition.
-
June 16: Ten ULFA cadres, including
‘sergeant major’ Amit Chandra Mandal, surrender before the Army
in Dhubri along with some arms and ammunition.
- June 9: An hotelier in Guwahati city,
Hemendra Dutta Choudhury, is arrested for alleged nexus with the ULFA.
- June 7: Fourteen terrorists belonging
to different militant outfits, including the ULFA, surrender before
authorities at the Misa Army camp.
- June 5: Arms and ammunition belonging
to the ULFA’s ‘109 battalion’ are recovered from the Bamundanga area
of Goalpara district.
- June 6: A woman, identified as Suchitra
Rai, is arrested from Basugaon in the Kokrajhar district for alleged
links with the ULFA.
- June 5: Two ULFA terrorists belonging
to the outfit’s '28th battalion', identified as Apurba Barua and Pawan
Moran, are killed during an encounter with the army personnel at Jokaichowkgaon
under Doomdooma police station in the Tinsukia district.
- June 5: Police in Guwahati arrest Tapan
Deka, a junior engineer of the Northeast Frontier Railway, and his
daughter from the Jalukbari locality for suspected links with the
ULFA.
- June 4: Suspected ULFA terrorists explode
a bomb beneath a microwave tower at Gutanagar.
- June 1: Three ULFA terrorists surrender
before the Army authorities at Panbari in the Dhubri district.
- May 30: ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Baruah asks for the release of four of the outfit’s leaders before
commencement of talks with the Union Government.
- May 27: An IED explosion by the ULFA
damages the wooden bridge at Maithong on the National Highway No.
52, connecting the eastern parts of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
- May 26: ULFA triggers IED explosions
in the Choto Dirak and Dirak Chariali areas near Kakopathar in Tinsukia
district damaging the electric transformers.
- May 26: Suspected ULFA cadres kill a
leader of the Congress party, Amrit Dutta, at the Dhekorgorah Block
office under Pulibor police station in Jorhat district.
- May 26: Three security force (SF) personnel
are wounded in an explosion triggered by the ULFA targeting an army
vehicle at Digboi-Pengeri road in the Dibrugarh district.
- May 25: A hardcore ULFA cadre, Ashanta
Rajguru alias Raj Baishya, is arrested from an unspecified location
on the Assam-Meghalaya border.
- May 24: A civilian is killed by suspected
ULFA terrorists at Dirakmukh under Dhola police station in the Tinsukia
district.
- May 24: Four ULFA collaborators are
arrested from the Noonmati police station area in Guwahati and Rongjuli
police station area in Goalpara.
- May 23: Three persons, including one
SF personnel, are injured as suspected ULFA terrorists trigger an
IED explosion in the Noonmati locality of Guwahati city.
- May 21: A college teacher and a freelance
journalist are arrested from Bilasipara in the Dubri district and
Panbazaar in Kamrup district respectively for alleged links with the
ULFA and involvement in several explosions in Guwahati.
- May 20: Four ULFA terrorists are arrested
along with a unspecified number of IEDs from Kumarikata in the Baska
district.
- May 20: Suspected ULFA cadres trigger
an IED explosion partially damaging a bridge at Sadiya in the Dibrugarh
district.
- May 20: One Indo-Tibetan Border Police
(ITBP) personnel is killed and four others sustain injuries during
an ambush by the ULFA at Borhat under Sonari subdivision in the Sibsagar
district.
- May 14: Two ULFA cadres, Debajit Amche
and Palesh Malang, are arrested from the Rangfang gaon area in Karbi
Anglong district.
- May 14: Police recover two universal
machine guns, three magazines and 60 rounds from an ULFA hideout at
Masuk in the West Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
- May 9: Three ULFA terrorists are killed
during an encounter with the Army at Kothalguri in the Dibrugarh district.
- May 8: Army personnel kill two ULFA
cadres, identified as Ugra Barman and Uddipta Bharali, at Dhanbil
in the Nalbari district.
- April 27: Two ULFA terrorists are arrested
from Baruabamungaon in the Golaghat district.
- April 24: Six ULFA cadres, including
a woman ‘sergeant major’, are arrested at Sesupani in the Tinsukia
district.
- April 18: Four ULFA terrorists are arrested
during two separate operations at Baichara village and Jail Road area
in the Nalbari district.
- April 12: Sixteen ULFA cadres surrender
before the General Officer Commanding of the 2 Mountain Division at
Laipuli in the Tinsukia district.
- April 2: A ULFA cadre is killed by the
Guwahati City Police during an encounter at Panjabari-Bagharbori Napara
area under Dispur police station limits.
- April 1: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in an explosion at Kharbilpar village under Barama police station
in the Baska district.
- April 1: ULFA carries out several explosions
in Guwahati, Dhemaji and Tinsukia targeting security forces and oil
pipelines and injure more than 15 persons.
- March 27: Four ULFA terrorists, including
hardcore cadre Khagen Boruah alias Rana Gohain, surrender before the
Sivasagar district police.
- March 24: Police arrests three ULFA
terrorists from the residence of an advocate near the Assam Engineering
College in Guwahati.
- March 16: A suspected ULFA terrorist
is killed in an encounter with the security forces at Misa Hatkhola
under Khairabari police station limits in the Darrang district.
- March 16: Diganta Baruah alias Kesar
Jyoti Saikia, ‘second commander’ of the ULFA’s ‘Enigma group’ and
a bodyguard of Paresh Baruah, are killed during an encounter at Nikhira
village under Khairabari police station in the Udalguri district.
- March 15: Six people are injured during
an explosion suspected to have been triggered by the ULFA at Bihpuria
in the Lakhimpur district.
- March 14: Hiten Thakuria, a ULFA terrorist,
is killed in an encounter with the Army at Ghasbari village in the
Dhubri district.
- March 12: Suspected ULFA terrorist,
Parag Das, is killed during an encounter with the police in the Lokhra
area of Guwahati city.
- March 11: One person is killed and nine
others are wounded as ULFA terrorists lob a grenade targeting a police
vehicle in front of the headquarters of the Congress party in Guwahati
city.
- March 11: ULFA terrorists trigger an
explosion in front of a hotel near the Sivasagar police station injuring
11 people.
- March 9: One police personnel is killed
and seven others sustain injuries as suspected ULFA terrorists trigger
several bomb explosions across the Bongaigaon, Kamrup, Dhubri and
Sivasagar districts.
- March 2: Two ULFA terrorists, Biren
Gogoi and Naren Gogoi, are arrested from Lengeri Bamunbari No. 2 village
in Dibrugarh district.
- February 28: Two ULFA terrorists, including
Suman Barua alias Ruby Bhuyan, editor of the outfit’s mouthpiece Freedom,
and Chandan Borah, a bomb expert believed to be trained in Pakistan,
surrender before the Assam Police in Guwahati.
- February 26: Three ULFA terrorists,
identified as ‘lance corporal of Sivasagar’ Amar Mili, Pallav Kakoti
alias Ban Moran and Nasang Rangpi, are killed in an encounter with
Army personnel at Kheroni Hatimura under Bordumsa police station on
the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
- February 20, 2005: Suspected ULFA cadres
hurl a grenade at a grocery shop located at Kakopathar Tiniali under
Kakopathar police station in Tinsukia district injuring the owner
and four persons.
- February 10: A ULFA terrorist is killed
in an encounter with the Army personnel at Khalenapara under Barama
police station in the Baska district.
- February 8: ULFA terrorists explode
a bomb at Kardaiguri village in the Tinsukia District targeting the
Army personnel on patrol. However, no loss of life or injury is reported.
- February 7: A ULFA cadre is killed during
an encounter with the Army personnel at Jagun Meo under Lekhapani
police station in the Tinsukia District.
- February 7: ULFA terrorists explode
a grenade targeting a shop at Rupai Chaiding under Doomdooma police
station in the Tinsukia district.
- January 26: A ULFA cadre is killed during
an encounter with the Army at Amguri under Lakhpur police station
in Goalpara district.
- January 26: Two persons are seriously
injured as ULFA terrorists trigger an explosion near Bamunimaidan
in Guwahati City.
- January 26: ULFA cadres explode a bomb
under a culvert at Bongaigaon.
- January 26: ULFA cadres explode two
bombs near the Judges' field in Guwahati City targeting the Republic
Day celebrations. Three persons, including a police officer, are injured
in the second explosion.
- January 25: ULFA terrorists lob a grenade
near Railway Gate No.3 at Maligaon in Guwahati City.
- January 24: Suspected ULFA terrorists
trigger a grenade blast at Ganesguri in the capital Guwahati injuring
seven persons.
- January 23: ULFA activists hurl a grenade
targeting the outer barricade of Golaghat Jail in Golaghat district.
- January 20: ULFA terrorists explode
a bomb targeting a portion of a gas pipe line at Sarupathar Bengaligaon
under Chabua police station in Dibrugarh district.
- January 19: ULFA cadres hurl a bomb
at Mangaldoi police station compound in the Darrang district resulting
in injuries to a police personnel.
- January 19: ULFA terrorists hurl a grenade
at Jonai police station in the Dhemaji district.
- January 19: An Electric Tower located
at Toklai tea estate in the Jorhat district is damaged due to an explosion
triggered by the ULFA.
- January 19: One person is killed and
six others sustain injuries during a bomb blast triggered by suspected
ULFA terrorists at Boxirhat under Golokganj police station in the
Dhubri district.
- January 15: An ULFA terrorist, Ajit
Deka, is killed in an encounter at Gandhibari village under Tamulpur
Police Station in the Nalbari district.
- January 11: Fourteen civilians, including
a nine-year-old girl and four women, are injured when suspected ULFA
terrorists trigger an explosion at the Marwaripatty area of Jorhat
town.
- January 8: A surrendered ULFA (SULFA)
cadre, Ashok Das, is killed by suspected ULFA terrorists in the Barama
town of Nalbari district.
2004
-
December 30: Security forces’ arrest two ULFA terrorists, Jayanta
Gaon and Arup Dutta, suspected to have been involved in the improvised
explosive device blast at the Jalukonibari police outpost on December
24, from an unspecified place in Jorhat district.
-
December 17: In an e-mail message, ‘Chairman’ of the ULFA, Arabinda
Rajkhowa, states that the outfit’s ‘commander-in-chief’, Paresh
Baruah, has fallen ill and is being shifted to a safe location for
surgery.
-
December 10: Two hardcore ULFA terrorists, Raju Gogoi, an explosive
expert and ‘major’ Jyotish Nath, surrender at Panbari in the Dhubri
district and the district headquarters of Sibsagar district.
-
December 9: ULFA rejects the invitation from the Prime Minister’s
Office (PMO) for peace talks. Talking to media houses in Guwahati
over telephone, the ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’, Paresh Barua states
that the PMO letter sent through noted writer Mamoni Raisom Goswami
was ‘self-contradictory and confusing’.
-
December 8: The Nazira Police arrest Bijuli Devi, wife of ULFA
‘second lieutenant’ Sujit Mohan, commander of ‘B’ camp at Myanmar
with her two-year-old child from an unspecified place in the Sibsagar
district.
-
December 5: Two hardcore ULFA terrorists, ‘second lieutenant’ of
the outfit’s ‘109 Battalion’, Rubul Ali and ‘lieutenant’ of the
same battalion, Subhash Sharma, are killed in an encounter with
the army at Kumarbari in the Kamrup district.
-
December 5: Two ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter with the
army personnel at Kumarbari under Palashbari police station in Kamrup
district.
-
November 29: ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’, Paresh Barua claims that
at least 150 ULFA cadres have been working in various security force
establishments in the country. In an interview to the Sentinel Baruah
says, "As the Indian security forces have sneaked in their
members into our organisation, we are also adopting a similar policy."
-
November 27: ULFA 'chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa, in a press statement,
demands a plebiscite on the issue of sovereignty of Assam. He assures
that the outfit would follow the verdict of the plebiscite and urged
the Government of India to do the same.
-
November 22: Two ULFA terrorists, Praneshware Rabha and Bokul Rajkhowa,
are killed in an encounter with the army at an unspecified place
along the Assam-Meghalaya border in Goalpara district.
-
November 21: Two ULFA terrorists, a ‘general secretary’ of the
Dhubri district unit, Atul Baruah alias Arabinda Nath and Sushen
Bepari, a ‘lieutenant’ in the outfit’s ‘central communication’,
surrender before the Dhubri Superintendent of Police at Dhubri.
-
November 18: In an e-mail message to the local media, ULFA’s ‘chairman’,
Arabinda Rajkhowa, expresses willingness to begin a peace dialogue
with the Government of India, provided the outfit is formally invited.
He reiterates that no discussion would be possible without the outfit’s
demand for sovereignty on the agenda and described the issue as
"a right of the people of Assam" and not a "mere demand by his organization".
-
November 16: Talking to The Sentinel over the phone, the ULFA’s
‘commander-in-chief’, Paresh Barua make it clear that any talks
with the Central government must have ‘sovereignty’ as the core
issue to make it a meaningful exercise.
-
November 15: A ULFA terrorist, Jayanto Moran alias Jotin surrender
before the army authorities in Tinsukia on November 15.
-
November 15: ULFA terrorist Amal Barua alias Jiban Sarma killed
in an encounter at Milanpur village in Golaghat district.
-
November 4: Self-styled ‘second lieutenant' of the ‘28th battalion’
of the ULFA, Simanta Saikia alias Simanta Chinese along with his
associate, Nijut Chetia surrender at the Laipuli Army camp in Tinsukia
district along with an AK-56 rifle and ammunition.
-
October 29: Five ULFA terrorists, members of the outfit’s ‘Action
Group’, are killed in an encounter with the security forces at Kasojuli
village under Laluk police station limits in Lakhimpur district.
-
October 29: 13 ULFA terrorists, including a women cadre surrender
before the police at Dibrugarh along with an AK-56 rifle, a .56
pistol, a wireless set and several rounds of ammunition.
-
October 27: Eight ULFA cadres surrender before the district administration
at Sibsagar along with an AK-56 rifle, one hand grenade, one gun,
magazines, live cartridges and a wireless set.
-
October 12: Suspected ULFA terrorists kill two civilians at Mridongpara
in Tinsukia district.
-
October 3: Two persons including a six-year-old boy were injured
as ULFA terrorists open fire at a weekly market at Gossaigaon in
the Kokrajhar district.
-
September 12: Two ULFA terrorists, including a self-styled lieutenant,
Rakta Cheleng, are killed in an encounter at Mulong Pahar under
Ledo police station in Tinsukia district.
-
August 19: ULFA 'Commander-in-Chief', Paresh Baruah, in a statement
to the media denies his outfit’s involvement in the August 15-explosion
at Dhemaji.
-
August 15: Seventeen persons, including 16 school children, were
killed as ULFA detonates explosives at the venue of Independence
Day celebrations at Dhemaji town.
A separate explosion by the ULFA, at the venue of
Independence Day celebrations at Dhakuakhana in Dhemaji district,
results in no casualty.
-
August 2: The Assam Police arrests Simanta Phukan alias Bastav
Deodhai Phukan, chief of ULFA’s 'Enigma unit' and commander of the
outfit’s ‘28th battalion’ along with his associate Dulal Baruah,
from Napam Mising village under Gaurisagar police station in Sibsagar
district.
-
July 9: ULFA terrorists shoot dead two local leaders of the
Congress party, identified as Debajit Haloi and Bipul Talukdar,
at Santipur Milan Chowk under Barama police station limits in Nalbari
district.
-
June 16: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, in an interview to the
Press Trust of India in Guwahati, says that the ULFA has
shown the ‘first signs’ of coming to the negotiation table to solve
the insurgency problem.
-
May 29: ULFA ‘foreign secretary’, Sashadhar Choudhury, in a statement,
demands the release of seven of the outfit’s leaders, missing during
the Bhutan Military operations in December 2003, in exchange for
the release of the Assam State Minister G C Langthasa’s son whom
it had earlier abducted.
-
March 31: Speaking to the media in Dhaka, Bangladesh Foreign Minister
Morshed Khan rules out the possibility of handing over ULFA leader
Anup Chetia, who is now in jail, to Indian authorities.
-
March 3: Assam Police recover a huge cache of arms and ammunition,
kept buried by ULFA terrorists in Bishondoi village in the Dhubri
district. 12 AK-56 rifles, one US carbine, one rocket launcher,
28 rounds of AK-56 ammunition, seven universal machine guns magazines,
one camera, some wireless sets, six rocket launcher cells and documents
relating to arms training are recovered.
-
February 25: Assam Government extends the period of ‘general amnesty’
to cadres of the terrorist organizations- ULFA, NDFB, anti-talks
faction of the UPDS and anti-talks faction of the Dima Halim Daoga
(DHD) - till March 31 to enable them to surrender.
-
February 9: Eleven ULFA cadres, hailing from the Nalbari and Nagaon
districts, surrender before the authorities after fleeing from their
Bhutan camps following the Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) operations in
December 2003.
-
January 4: ULFA ‘chairman’ Arabinda Rajkhowa reacting to the Bhutanese
Prime Minister Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley’s speech at the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Summit in Islamabad,
Pakistan, in a press statement, labels him as ‘a liar dictated by
New Delhi’. He claims that there was absolutely no truth in the
Bhutanese Premier’s assertion that the Kingdom "suffered from the
presence of three armed extremist outfits of northeast."
2003
-
December 31: Sixteen ULFA terrorists surrender at Jorhat.
-
December 29: Two ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter at
Sargapur village in the Nalbari District.
-
December 27: Two unidentified ULFA terrorists are killed in an
encounter with the Army at Batiagaon under Sarthebari police station
limits in Barpeta District.
-
December 26: ULFA 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah, in an interview
to a Guwahati based newspaper, offers conditional dialogue with
the Union Government on the issue of Assam's sovereignty through
a neutral third party mediator.
-
December 26: ULFA's ideologue and founder member Bhimakanta Buragohain
alias Mama surrenders along with three other ULFA leaders before
the Indian Army at Tezpur in Sonitpur district.
-
December 25: Five ULFA terrorists are killed while attempting to
enter Assam from Bhutan at Baltinadi area under Tamulpur police
station limits in the Nalbari district.
-
December 23: Three ULFA terrorists are killed in separate encounters
along the India-Bhutan border at Kumarikata and Tamulpur in the
Nalbari district.
-
December 22: ULFA 'Chairman' Arabinda Rajkhowa in a letter to the
Chinese authorities asks for safe passage for its fleeing cadres
from Bhutan.
-
December 20: ULFA 'publicity secretary', Mithinga Daimary is arrested
during military operations in Bhutan and later handed over to the
Indian Army.
-
December 20: Seven ULFA terrorists surrender in the Darrang district
after escaping from their camp in Bhutan. December 20: ULFA along
with the NDFB and the KLO calls for a 48-hour shutdown in 'Assam,
Bodoland and Kamatapur' in protest against the military operations
in Bhutan.
-
December 19: Three ULFA terrorists are killed as they enter Indian
Territory from Bhutan in the Manas Reserve Forest area of Barpeta
district.
-
December 18: Three ULFA terrorists are killed during an ambush
laid by the Army in Panbari Reserve Forest under Bijni police station
in Bongaigaon district.
-
December 16: 63 ULFA cadres surrender at the 4 Corps headquarters
in Tezpur.
-
December 15: Royal Bhutan Army (RBA) launches military operations
against the ULFA, NDFB and KLO terrorists holed up in 30 camps in
southern Bhutan.
-
December 8: Three persons are killed and six others sustain injuries
as a time bomb planted by suspected ULFA terrorists explodes in
front of a hardware store at Makum market in the Tinsukia district.
-
November 29: ULFA terrorists kill three persons, including two
police personnel, and injure four others in an ambush at Mejeragaon
village under Silapathar police station limits in Dhemaji district.
-
November 27: Three ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter at
Ghopapara Basti in the Nalapara Nala village of Darrang district.
-
-
November 24: ULFA kills two civilians at Khanhkholobari under Udalguri
police station limits in the Darrang district.
-
November 22: ULFA terrorists kill 11 labourers of two brick kilns
and injured seven others in the Bordubi area of Tinsukia district.
-
November 19: Two ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter at
Gaikhowa village under Golokganj police station jurisdiction in
Dhubri district.
-
November 19: ULFA cadres kill four Hindi speaking persons in Nalbari
town.
-
November 19: Four women are killed and seven others sustain injuries
as ULFA terrorists open fire at Gangquarter in the Bongaigaon district
-
November 18: Five truck drivers are killed and seven others are
injured as ULFA terrorists open fire at Basirhat in Dhubri district.
-
November 16: ULFA kills two persons at Nakerbari village in the
Nalbari district.
-
November 15: Suspected ULFA terrorists kill two businessmen at
the Golakganj market in Dhubri district.
-
November 10: Two ULFA cadres are killed in an encounter at Urangnala
Guabari village near the Indo-Bhutan border in Nalbari district.
-
October 28: One ULFA terrorist and a police personnel are killed
during an encounter at Borkhuiha village in Nalbari district.
-
October 27: Two ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter at Betagaon
in the Kamrup district.
-
October 24: Pranati Deka, 'cultural secretary' of ULFA, is arrested
along with another ULFA cadre at Phulbari in the West Garo Hills
district of Meghalaya.
-
October 11: Five persons are killed while another is injured in
an attack by the ULFA near Dighal Tarrang Tea Estate in Tinsukia
district.
-
October 6: Two ULFA terrorists are killed during an encounter at
Khalingduar reserve forest in the Darrang district.
-
October 2: ULFA terrorists kill Deben Saikia, a village chief,
at Kailash under Pengari police station limits in the Tinsukia district.
-
September 27: Two ULFA terrorists are killed during an encounter
at Ballamjora village under Gossaigaon police station jurisdiction
in Kokrajhar district.
-
September 14: Five persons, including two army personnel, are killed
in an ambush by ULFA terrorists at Mukongpathar under Pengeri police
station jurisdiction in Tinsukia district.
- September 8: Police confirms that ULFA
was behind the blast that occurred at the Athgaon area of Guwahati
in Assam on September 7. 13 persons had been injured in the incident
and one of them succumbed to injuries later.
- September 4: Six ULFA terrorists, including
the Kolong-Kopili Anchalik Parishad ‘area commander’ Manoj Bora alias
Bhim, surrender before the Nagaon district police chief.
- September 2: Former Army personnel suspected
to have links with the ULFA is killed at Tankibasti village under
Paneri police station limits in the Darrang district.
- August 28: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in an encounter near Barpathar village under Bijni police station
limits in Bongaigaon.
- August 27: A Court in Assam’s Kamrup
district sentences to life two ULFA terrorists convicting them in
the Sanjoy Ghosh abduction and murder case. Ghosh, a social worker
had been abducted on July 4, 1997, from Majuli and was subsequently
killed.
- August 25: ULFA terrorists blow up a
goods train causing extensive damage to the 200-metre rail track between
Lakwah and Safrai railway stations in the Charaideo sub-division of
Sivasagar district.
- August 24: ULFA terrorists kill a woman
and her son at Basugaon in Kokrajhar district.
- August 23: Court in Dhaka pronounces
that ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia would remain in Kashimpur
Jail for six months more than the stipulated term awarded for various
offenses under Bangladeshi laws, as he had failed to pay the fine
of Taka 10,000.
- August 23: Two ULFA terrorists and a
member of the Village Defence Committee are killed during an encounter
at Sakapara village under Lakhipur police station limits in Goalpara
district.
- August 20: Five ULFA cadres surrender
before the Nagaon district police chief.
- August 19: ULFA terrorists abduct a
tea planter from the Tokopathar area under Pangeri police station
limits in Tinsukia district.
- August 18: Five ULFA terrorists are
killed at Ghopabasti under Paneri police station limits in the Darrang
district and separately two more in the Sessapani area of Kokrajhar
district.
- August 16: One ULFA terrorist is killed
at an unnamed place under Bijni police station limits in Bongaigaon
district.
Reports indicate that
ULFA has set up a camp in the Changpang area of Nagaland that has
some Government-controlled oil installations.
- August 16: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in an encounter under the Khoirabari police station-limits, Darrang
district.
- August 10: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in an encounter in the Solmara area of Nalbari district.
Approximately 40 unidentified
gunmen attack a ULFA hideout at Tiluka in Bhutan killing four ULFA
cadres and injuring five more.
- August 7: ULFA women’s wing secretary
Bhomita Talukdar alias Deepali is arrested from the Jangrinpara village
of Barpeta district.
- August 6: Three ULFA cadres are killed
during an encounter at Srirampur in Kokrajhar district.
- August 4: A media report indicates that
unidentified gunmen attacked two ULFA hideouts at Kinzo and Babang
in Samdrup Jongkhar district and killed three ULFA cadres. Four attackers
were also killed in the incident.
Asom Public Works ULFA
Parial Committee (APWUPC), an organisation of the ULFA kin, starts
a signature campaign in protest against the ULFA’s demand of Swodhin
Asom (independent Assam).
- August 3: ULFA terrorists kill a tea
estate-owner and his two sons at Diasajan in Tinsukia district.
- August 2: Three ULFA terrorists are
killed and two police personnel injured during an encounter in the
Dakshin Haldibari area of Jalpaiguri district in the State of West
Bengal.
Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in Nalbari district.
- July 23: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in an encounter in the Koksaguri area of Kokrajhar district.
Media reports say that
the 81st National Assembly of Bhutan adopted a resolution
for ‘the last attempt’ to persuade ULFA, NDFB and the KLO to close
down their camps within this year ‘peacefully’ failing which terrorists
would face ‘military action’.
- July 20: ULFA terrorist is killed in
an encounter at Shimultapur, Kokrajhar district.
- July 17: Three ULFA terrorists are killed
during an encounter inside the Chariduar reserve forest of Sonitpur
district.
ULFA terrorist killed during an
encounter in Nalbari district.
- July 11: Media
reports from Bhutan indicate that Bhutan National Assembly was unable
to reach a consensus over the issue of the way to tackle NDFB, ULFA
and the KLO.
-
July 11: ULFA
terrorist is killed during an encounter at Machakolgre village in
the East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
A joint hideout of ULFA and the Meghalaya-based Achik National Volunteer
Council (ANVC)
is destroyed in East Garo Hills district of Meghalaya.
-
July 10: ULFA
terrorist is killed and two personnel of the Central Reserve Police
Force (CRPF) are injured during an encounter at Sonpoirabari under
Barpeta police station limits. A woman is also killed in the crossfire.
-
July 7: Two
ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter in the Rangjuli area
of Goalpara district.
-
July 2: The
Nine-day Army cordon laid in search of ULFA terrorists suspected
to be hiding inside the forest areas of Lakhipathar in Tinsukia
district is lifted.
-
June 29: ULFA
'assistant finance secretary' Rustom Choudhury alias Harimohan Roy
is killed during an encounter at Kumargram in the Jalpaiguri district
of West Bengal.
Report indicates that ULFA and NDFB have formed a new outfit named
Gorkha Bhutan Liberation Front (GBLF) with 300 Nepalese Gorkha youths
from Bhutan.
ULFA woman cadre killed during an encounter at Bitukana in Meghalaya
and two more ULFA cadres, including a woman are subsequently arrested.
-
June 27: Reports
indicate that heavy monsoon rains and an outbreak of malaria forced
an unspecified number of ULFA terrorists to abandon their jungle
bases in Bhutan and seek safe places in the North-Eastern States.
19 United ULFA and 11 NDFB terrorists surrender before the General
Officer Commanding (GOC) IV corps Lt. Gen. Mohinder Singh at Tamulpur
in Nalbari district.
-
June 26: Suspected
ULFA terrorists kill the Personal Assistant (PA) of a Member of
Assam Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Bhawanipur, Sarbananda
Choudhury, at Betbari, under Patacharkuchi police station limits
in Barpeta district.
-
June 25: Counter-insurgency
operations against the ULFA initiated in the forest areas of Lakhipathar
in Tinsukia district.
- June 23: ULFA terrorists ambush an Army
convoy at Juriapool in Assam’s Tinsukia district and killed a civilian
and injured 10 troops.
Report says that ULFA ‘commander-in-chief‘Paresh Baruah in an interview
to the British Broadcasting Corporation’s (BBC’s) Kolkata correspondent
on June 21 admits that he was indeed attacked by unidentified gunmen
in Dhaka on May 27.
- June 22: Inspector General of Police
(Special Branch), Khagen Sarma says that while the ‘28th
battalion’ of the ULFA was responsible for the attack on an oil storage
facility in Tinsukia district on June 20, a 22-member ULFA ‘hit-squad’
was involved in the attack on a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
camp in Dhubri district on June 21.
- June 21: A ULFA terrorist is killed
and two security force personnel are injured during an encounter at
Panbari, Dhubri district, following an attack by ULFA terrorists at
a Central Reserve Police Force camp.
Reports indicate that ULFA, the Manipur People’s Liberation Front
(MPLF), a conglomerate of three terrorist groups–United National Liberation
Front (UNLF), People’s Liberation Army (PLA) and People’s Revolutionary
Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK)– active in Manipur, and the Tripura People’s
Democratic Front (TPDF), a front outfit of the All Tripura Tiger Force
(ATTF), operating in Tripura under a common platform have launched
a "Coordinated Regional Military Offensive for liberation of the Region
from Indian colonial occupation," code named "Operation Freedom".
The reports further said that attacks under the ‘operation’ started
on June 17.
- June 20: State Government issues directives
to the Deputy Commissioners and district police chiefs to remain vigilant
following intelligence reports that some ULFA terrorists would sneak
into the State to find safer places due to heavy rains. The report
further indicates that ULFA cadres in small groups have already entered
Lakhimpur, Darrang, Nalbari, Barpeta, Bongaigaon, Dhubri, Goalpara,
Jorhat, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Karbi Anglong districts.
ULFA terrorist and two personnel of the Central Industrial Security
Force (CISF) are killed in an encounter at Nagajan in Tinsukia district.
The terrorists also blow up an empty crude oil tank with a rocket
launcher.
- June 19: Security forces arrest three
ULFA terrorists from a hideout following an encounter at Bikonggiri
in the Phulbari area of West Garo Hills district in Meghalaya.
The Dibrugarh police arrest a woman
home guard personnel, Junali Gogoi for her alleged links with the
ULFA.
Report indicates that Bangladesh Director General of Field Intelligence
(DGFI) is probing into the reported attack on ULFA ‘chief’ Paresh
Baruah on the outskirts of Dhaka on May 27, 2003.
- June 17: In Darrang district, three
hardcore ULFA terrorists and an Army Major are killed in an encounter,
and a woman also receives bullet injuries in the crossfire at Neogpara
village under Kalaigaon police station limits.
- June 16: ULFA terrorist is killed in
an encounter at Lotkapara, under Golokganj police post limits, in
the Dhubri district.
- June 13: Police increase surveillance
on the border areas of Assam following reports that the ULFA terrorists
are compelled to move out of their hideouts in the mountainous regions
of Bhutan, Myanmar and Garo Hills area in Meghalaya and also from
the regions in upper Assam due to heavy rains.
Report says following recovery of a letter from a slain terrorist
a three-month over-ground organisation of the ULFA the Asom Yuva Chatra
Parishad (AYCP) is unearthed. The organization is said to be in operation
in 18 of the State’s 24 districts.
- June 12: ULFA terrorist Akon Gogoi alias
Pranjal Gogoi alias Chabua Moran is arrested from his residence at
Bhadhara village under Chabua police station, in Dibrugarh district.
Subsequently, on the basis of the information provided by the arrested
terrorist, ULFA ‘communication centre’ is unearthed at Kakopathar
in No 2 Dirak village, Tinsukia district and an ULFA conduit Prafulla
Hazarika is also arrested by a joint police team of Dibrugarh and
Tinsukia districts.
ULFA terrorists kill a local trader near the Hemlai Tea Estate under
Teok police station limits in Jorhat district for not paying an extortion
amount of Rupees 200,000 demanded by the outfit earlier.
- June 11: One ULFA terrorist is killed
in an encounter at Sarthebari, Nalbari district.
- June 10: Paresh Baruah, ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’
in a telephonic interview with a vernacular daily in Guwahati, Asamiya
Pratidin, dismisses claims of attack (May 27) on him by unidentified
assailants in Bangladesh.
- June 10: ULFA terrorist Bipul Bora alias
Cobra who acted as a bodyguard of the ULFA ‘deputy commander’ Raju
Baruah surrenders at the Army Headquarters in Tezpur, Sonitpur district.
- June 8: Woman ULFA cadre and two members
of the human rights organisation, Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (MASS),
which allegedly acts as a front of the ULFA are arrested from Ananda
Nagar locality in Guwahati city.
Police in Nalbari district recover a huge cache of arms including
eight anti-tank explosives allegedly belonging to the ULFA from Barkhanajan
village.
- June 7: Four persons sustain injuries
in a grenade attack in Dhemaji town allegedly carried out by the ULFA.
- June 6: One ULFA terrorist is killed
in an encounter at Sikorajan in the Filobari area of Tinsukia district.
- June 4: Assam Public Works ULFA Pariyal
Committee (APWUPC) submits petition before the Assam Human Rights
Commission (AHRC) to issue summons to the ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Barua for forcibly confining their kin for arms training in
the jungles of Bhutan.
- June 3: Reports indicate that ULFA agreed
to share the proceeds it would extort from the Tirap, Lohit and Changlang
districts in Arunachal Pradesh with the National Socialist Council
of Nagaland-Isak Muivah (NSCN-IM).
- June 2: Three NDFB terrorists and two
ULFA terrorists, including a ‘sergeant major’ of latter’s women’s
wing, surrender at Thakurbari in the Sonitpur district.
- May 31: An ULFA conduit is killed by
his colleagues at Barbheta in Goalpara district
- May 30: Two ULFA terrorists–‘sergeant
major’ Soru Hajo alias Bhupen Kalita and Aswini Sarma alias Ramesh
Sarma– are killed in an encounter at Katpuha village in Nalbari district.
- May 29: ULFA terrorist Clever Momin
surrenders before the Meghalaya police in the East Garo Hills district.
- May 28: Railway Protection Force identifies
four insurgency prone sectors in the Northeast and says that the ULFA
is active in the Guwahati-Rangiya-Srirampur and the Rangiya-Rangapara
sector.
- May 27: ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh
Baruah escapes unhurt in an attack by four unidentified assailants
while he was leaving his transport agency, ‘Challenger’ at Uttara
town in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka.
- May 26: Police in Sonitpur destroy an
ULFA hideout near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border at Jarubari hillock
under Sootea police station and arrest a front ranking terrorist,
involved in the killing of officer-in-charge (OC) of Gohpur police
station corporal Bibek Hazarika alias Prasanta Barpatra Mudoi.
- May 24: Two ULFA terrorists are killed
in separate encounters in the Kumar Kali reserve forests near Lakhipur
in Cachar district and in the Puntan reserve forest of south Kamrup
district.
ULFA terrorists kill their former
colleague (Surrendered ULFA) at Basugaon, in Kokrajhar district.
- May 23: Report indicates that the ULFA
has asked its cadres to prepare to leave their camps in Bhutan following
Bhutan Government’s warning to ULFA, NDFB and KLO to vacate its territory
by June 30, 2003.
Bhutanese
King Jigme Singhye Wangchuk calls upon the people to volunteer for
formation of a ‘militia force’ to counter Indian insurgent groups–ULFA,
NDFB and the KLO on its soil.
-
April 22: The
Assam Public Works (APW), an organisation of the kin of ULFA terrorists,
expresses reluctance to accept noted musician and singer Bhupen
Hazarika or any other intellectual to mediate with the ULFA.
-
April 20: Woman
ULFA cadre, Dwipamani Kalita, believed to be involved in major mortar
attacks in 2002 in Guwahati surrenders before the Assam Police chief
Hare Krishna Deka along with an AK 56 rifle and three rocket-propelled
gun cells.
-
April 10: Police
in Meghalaya seize, among other things, 11 big shoulder-borne rockets,
an AK 56 rifle, several thousands of medium machine gun-ammunition
and two communication sets from an ULFA hideout at Rongdupara, in
West Garo Hills district.
-
March 16: Six
civilians are killed and 55 more injured in an Improvised Explosive
Device (IED) blast set-off by ULFA terrorists under a passenger
bus, on National Highway No. 7, Bamunghopha, Goalpara district.
-
March 13: ULFA
'commander' of a Bhutan-based camp, identified as ‘Captain’ Kamal
Gogoi, surrenders to General Officer Commanding (GOC), IV Corps,
Lt Gen Mohinder Singhat the corps-headquarters in Tezpur, Sonitpur
district.
Assam
Public Works ULFA Parial Committee, an organisation of ULFA kin criticises
ULFA ‘commander-in-chief’ Paresh Baruah for attacks on innocent persons
and important installations like oil pipelines.
-
March 8: ULFA
terrorists set-off an explosion at a five million-litre petrol reservoir
at Digboi Refinery, in Tinsukia district, causing a huge loss of
approximately Rs 200 million to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC),
a public sector enterprise. In another attack, they damage a gas
pipeline facility at Kathalguri, in the same district, in a blast.
A
group of ULFA terrorists attack and partially damage the Darrangiri
police outpost in Goalpara district. While none police personnel are
injured in the attack, the fleeing terrorists kill two persons and
injure six more at a nearby migrant-settlement.
ULFA
terrorists flee following a clash with a joint team of police and
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel at Baruathan in Dhemaji
district.
Union
Minister of State for Home I.D. Swami while speaking in Dimapur, Nagaland,
says the ULFA should come forward for talks without any preconditions.
ULFA
claims responsibility for blast at an underground oil pipeline in
Upper Mamoroni area of Tinsukia.
January
21: ULFA terrorist killed in encounter at Rangchali in Dibrugarh district.
2002
-
December 25:
Suspected ULFA terrorists throw five mortar bombs in quick succession
in Kalibari and Ambri areas of Guwahati killing two civilians, including
a five-year-old child. 16 more are injured in these incidents.
-
December 24:
An ULFA terrorist is killed in an encounter in Bagicha Chuba, Kalaigaon,
Darrang district.
Two ULFA terrorists are killed near Nakati forest, in Kokrajhar
district.
-
December 23:
All Assam Students’ Union (AASU) president Prabin Boro volunteers
to broker peace with ULFA.
-
December 17:
Reports say the ULFA, in its fortnightly Freedom, alleged
that security forces in Assam killed at least 500 ULFA and National
Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) terrorists in various encounters
during the past 18 months.
-
December 5:
Two ULFA terrorists, Pranjal Borah and Jayanta Ray, are killed in
an encounter in Putani village, Samaguri police station-limits,
in Assam's Nagaon district.
Self-styled
ULFA 'corporal' Meghnath is killed in an encounter in Maomari, Dudhnoi
police station-limits, Goalpara district, Assam.
-
November 21:
Assam Police chief (Director General) H K Deka says, in Guwahati,
top-ULFA leaders have lost control over the rank and file and the
latter indulge in extortion independent of their leaders.
-
November 3:
In a joint operation with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF),
Assam police destroy a training camp situated at the foothills of
Molapahar, in Tinsukia district, being jointly used by ULFA and
NSCN-K.
-
October 31:
Five ULFA terrorists led by 'corporal' Himan Deori of the outfit's
Enigma-A group and seven NDFB terrorists surrender at the
Tamulpur Army camp, in Assam's Nalbari district.
-
October 30:
Two top terrorists of ULFA’s Enigma Group are killed in an
encounter in Ajanta Path area, Guwahati, Assam.
-
October 21:
ULFA terrorist identified as Dipu Gogoi is arrested in Moranhat,
Dibrugarh district, Assam.
-
October 15:
ULFA, through its mouthpiece Freedom, reiterates the demand for
a 'plebiscite' in Assam.
-
October 12:
An ULFA terrorist and his wife, also an ULFA cadre, are nabbed from
a bus at Haloating Chariali, near Amguri, in Assam's Sivasagar district.
-
October 6: An
ULFA terrorist is killed in an encounter in the Jamduar Reserve
Forest, Gossaigaon police station-limits, Kokrajhar district.
-
October 5: Police
sources suspect ULFA might have been behind a bomb blast that occurred
in Assam's Nagaon district, killing a civilian and injuring three
others.
A school teacher from Garumara is arrested in Jorhat district for
alleged links with ULFA.
-
October 2: An
ULFA terrorist is killed in an encounter in Bihjia village, in Assam's
Nalbari district.
-
October 1: ULFA
women 'sergeant' Tulsi Rabha and another woman cadre, Malti Santoshi,
are arrested from Somphong Par, near Balda village, Goalpara district.
ULFA, in its mouthpiece Freedom, terms the government's effort of
furthering development in Assam as 'mischievous' and a ploy to intensify
counter-measures against the outfit.
-
September 30:
ULFA 'cultural secretary' Pallavi Phukan alias Kunjalata Deuri is
arrested in Baluguri village, Tinsukia district, Assam.
-
September 26:
Media reports indicate, Assam is vigilant against any threat that
might emanate from the suspected nexus between the ULFA and Nepal's
Maoists.
-
September 24:
A court in the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka sentences ULFA 'general
secretary' Anup Chetia and his two accomplices to seven years imprisonment
for 'illegal possession' of a satellite phone.
Sivasagar Chief Judicial Magistrate remands ULFA 'east zone commander'
Ramu Mech and his body guard to seven days in police custody.
Reports indicate ULFA has shifted two of its training camps from
their current, unspecified location in Bhutan to Narphung, also
in Bhutan.
-
September 23:
ULFA terrorists abduct a civilian from his residence in Kheremiagaon,
Mariani police station jurisdiction, Jorhat district.
-
September 22:
Prabin Konwar alias Ramu Mech, the ULFA 'east zone commender', and
another ULFA terrorist identified as Ranjit Rajkhowa alias Jyoti
Chaliha are arrested from a private nursing home in Diburgarh district
of Assam.
-
September 20:
ULFA terrorists kill a security force personnel in an ambush near
Orang River at Gowabari in Assam's Darrang district.
-
September 19:
Two ULFA terrorists are killed in an encounter the security forces
near the Nanoi river embankment in Assam's Darrang district.
-
September 18:
The General Officer Commanding (GOC) of the 'Red Horn Division'
of the Army, stationed in Assam, Major General Gaganjit Singh claims
that terrorists from two ULFA camps in Myanmar are ready to surrender,
but are, however, being restrained by their leaders.
-
September 15:
In its mouthpiece Freedom, ULFA denies its suspected involvement
in the Howrah-New Delhi Rajdhani Express derailment on September
9, in Bihar State. Approximately 119 persons had been killed in
the accident.
-
September 14:
Two ULFA terrorists and a security force personnel are killed in
an encounter following a raid on a terrorist hideout at Uttarkuchi
village in Nalbari district of Assam.
-
September 12:
Report says, a court in Dhaka would pronounce its verdict on detained
United ULFA 'general secretary' Anup Chetia, on September 24.
ULFA terrorist nabbed from a place under Bilasipara police station
limits, Dhubri district, Assam.
-
September 10:
ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter in Bhebladongpar, Patacharkuchi
police station limits, Barpeta district of Assam.
ULFA terrorists kill a Surrendered ULFA (SULFA) cadre at the local
club-cum-library in Balajan in Dhubri district, Assam.
-
September 6:
ULFA self-styled 'lieutenant' Lakhyajit Gogoi alias Bhaimon Gogoi
and another ULFA terrorist, Arvinda Konwar alias Devanand Chetia,
arrested by Assam Rifles in Nagaland's Mon district.
Assam Governor Sinha says ULFA's 'preconceived mindset' is impeding
negotiations.
-
September 1:
Five ULFA terrorists arrested from Bhekulajan village, Duliajan
police station limits, in Assam's Dibrugarh district.
-
August 31: Three
ULFA terrorists killed following an encounter in Bamunkuchigaon,
Patacharkuchi police station limits, Barpeta district.
-
August 30: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in Suktaguri village, Darrang
district.
-
August 29: Report
says an ULFA 'sergeant' and a female cadre surrendered to security
force (SF) personnel in Assam's Dibrugarh district.
A report indicates that oil companies in Assam have paid extortion
money to ULFA.
-
August 28: Five
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in Kachkuripathar, Sarthebari
police station limits, Barpeta district.
-
August 22: Government
confirms that South Abhayapuri (Bongaigaon district) Legislator
Chandan Sarkar's son, abducted on March 2, 2002 from Falakata in
West Bengal, is in ULFA's captivity. Alert people apprehend three
pseudo ULFA cadres while trying to extort money from a local businessman,
at a place under Kokrajhar police station limits.
-
August 19: Reports
indicate that intelligence sources suspect ULFA's hand, besides
that of the Kamatapur Liberation Organisations (KLO), in the August
17-Jalpaiguri (West Bengal) killings in which five Communist Party
of India- Marxist (CPI-M) activists had been killed.
-
August 18: Reports
claim ULFA is trying to unite with the Manipur-based United National
Liberation Front (UNLF).
Reports state that ULFA is trying to take advantage of the differences
between Bodo and non-Bodo groups over the formation of the Bodoland
Territorial Council with the aim of creating disturbances in the
Assam.
-
August 14: Four
ULFA terrorists killed in separate encounters--two near Suklapara
in Kamrup district and two more near Dudhnoi in Goalpara district.
-
August 13: ULFA
conduit arrested from Gauripara area in Guwahati.
-
August 12: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter near Darrangamela, Nalbari district.
Suspected ULFA conduit arrested from Aarikusi, Nalbari district,
Assam.
-
August 10: ULFA
issues a press release refuting allegations of its involvement in
the abduction of seven BLT cadres.
-
August 6: Sanmilita
Janagosthiya Sangram Samiti (SJSS), a platform of various non-Bodo
organisatons, hails the 'moral support' extended by ULFA to its
opposition to forming the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).
-
August 4: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter in Khoirabari, Kamrup district.
Two ULFA terrorists arrested at a place under Hatssinghimari police
station jurisdiction, Dhubri district.
-
August 3: Basanta
Gogoi alias Dipen Bora, a 'corporal' in ULFA's 28th battalion, killed
in an encounter in Chamguri village, Dibrugarh district.
-
August 2: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in Umananda, Darrang district.
-
August 1: The
ULFA, in its mouthpiece Freedom, says Bodoland Territorial Council
(BTC) would create political chaos.
-
July 29: Four
ULFA terrorists, including a self-styled 'lieutenant' and a woman
cadre, killed near Ghaghrapar in Assam's Nalbari district.
-
July 25: Reports
say a nine-member ULFA team led by Ashanta Phookan entered Golaghat
district to sabotage Independence day (August 15) celebrations.
-
July 24: ULFA
terrorist killed in Kukapar village, Barpeta district.
-
July 20: Media
report indicates security force personnel apprehend strikes by ULFA
on Independence Day-eve in Assam.
-
July 19: ULFA
alleges that increased presence of Indian security forces on Assam's
border with Bhutan is a hurdle in withdrawing from bases in Bhutan.
-
July 17: Manipur-based
United National Liberation Front (UNLF)
while claiming responsibility for the July 16 killing of three security
force personnel near Jirighat in Assam's Cachar district in a statement,
indicates that attacks were carried out at ULFA's behest.
Reports say, ULFA terrorists vacated two camps in Bhutan.
-
July 16: Six
ULFA terrorists, on their way to a training camp in Myanmar arrested
by Assam Rilfes (AR) personnel in Mon district of Nagaland.
-
July 14: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter at Dighali village, Nalbari
district.
Intelligence reports caution authorities in Assam about the presence
of a 70-member-strong ULFA gang in Sivasagar district, allegedly
led by 'operation commandant' Dristi Rajkhowa,` and warn that the
group might sabotage Independence Day celebrations.
Media report indicates that ULFA and NDFB terrorists based in camps
in Bhutan may approach hospitals in West Bengal for treatment, following
shrinking of medical facilities in Bhutan.
Three ULFA terrorists arrested from Netabari village while on an
extortion bid.
-
July 10: Three
ULFA terrorists arrested from Pallel Bazar, in Manipur's Thoubal
district.
-
July 8: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in the Barpathar area of
Golaghat district.
Sidharthamani Bora, the self-styled finance secretary of ULFA's
Sowansiri Anchalik Parishad surrenders in Jorhat.
-
July 5: A senior
police official says ULFA has trained women in 'intelligence gathering'.
-
July 3: Report
claims 20 ULFA terrorists, including women cadres, infiltrated Assam
to extort money and recruit cadres.
-
July 1: ULFA
in its mouthpiece Freedom asks Assamese students to launch
anti-Hindi campaign, say reports.
-
June 26: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter at Kardoiguri village in Tinsukia
district.
A report says ULFA involved is in fake currency circulation in Assam.
-
June 25: Three
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter at Nanoipara, under Paneri
police station limits.
Civilian killed and 28 more, including three SF personnel, injured
in a grenade attack by suspected ULFA terrorists near Mayapuri cinema
in Bongaigaon.
-
June 23: Two
ULFA terrorists, one SF personnel killed in Subansiri-encounter,
Nalbari district.
-
June 21: A report
says, ULFA is continuing with its recruitment drive in Upper Assam.
-
June 20: Police
in Dibrugarh arrest two ULFA terrorists from Khowang and Moran areas
in separate raids.
-
June 19: Two
ULFA terrorists, one security force personnel killed in an encounter
near Achabam Tea Estate, Dibrugarh district. · Assam Public Works
(APW), a Guwahati-based Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) refutes
ULFA's charges that it had, at the behest of the government, mobilised
people to file complaints with Assam Human Rights Commission against
ULFA Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah.
-
June 18: Six
ULFA terrorists killed in separate encounters--two at Vishnupur,
Ulubari, another two at Lakhimpur, and two more at the Dumni Tea
Estate, Nalbari district. One SF personnel also killed in the last
encounter.
ULFA terrorist arrested from Bisondoi village of Assam's Dhubri
district.
Reports hold, ULFA and NDFB procure arms from a Manipur-based terrorist
outfit, the United National Liberation Front (UNLF).
-
June 12 : Arpan
Saikia, believed to be ULFA’s ‘operation commander’ for Rangpur
Anchalik Parishad, arrested in Pathalibum village in Dibrugarh district.
-
May 29: ULFA
terrorist arrested from Thekeraguri village, under Tingkhong police
station limits.
-
May 28: ULFA
terrorist arrested from Ratanpur near Tingkhong in Dibrugarh district.
-
May 26: Inter
Services Intelligence (ISI) may use ULFA’s ‘commander-in-chief’
Paresh Barua to target its chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, c;lim reports.
-
May 25: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter near Sukhanjali village in
Nalbari district.
-
May 22: Ffour
ULFA terrorists arrested following a joint operation launched by
troops of the 2nd Mountain Division and personnel of
Assam and Nagaland police at Lahurijan village, under Bokajan police
station limits.
-
May 20: Self-styled
ULFA commander Tapan Baruah alias Madan Das killed in an encounter
at Talpathar Majhgaon in Tinsukia district.
-
May 19: ULFA’s
28th battalion’s ‘sergeant major’ identified as Diganta Dihingia
killed in encounter at Chetia Handique village in Sivasagar district.
Assam police arrest ULFA terrorist from a house under Simaluguri
police station limits.
-
May 18: 10 ULFA
terrorists, including a woman cadre, surrender in Nalbari district.
-
May 16: Reports
say ULFA mouthpiece Freedom (Swadhinata) leveled allegations
against the Indian government of carrying out ‘reconnaissance surveys’
over its camps in Bhutan for a possible military offensive.
-
May 14: Nine
persons injured in various attacks carried out by ULFA terrorists,
allegedly, jointly with NDFB terrorists at Gauripur in Dhubri district.
-
May 12: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter at Dalanghat village in Darrang
district.
-
May 10: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter at the Pachim Kamarkuchi village
under the Nalbari police station limits.
-
May 9: ULFA
conduit arrested from Nij Bihuguri village, under Tezpur police
station limits.
ULFA has renewed its attempt to escalate its terrorist acts in parts
of Assam, claim reports.
-
May 8: Two ULFA
terrorists killed in separate encounters in Nalbari district––in
Elangidal and Dahali villages respectively.
-
May 6: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter in Umananda village, under Goreshwar
police station limits.
-
May 5: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter near Kekankuchi in Nalbari district.
-
May 1: Encounter
between Jorhat police and ULFA terrorists reported at Panijangaon
under Mathura East police station limits. There were, however, no
casualties.
-
April 25 ULFA
terrorist Bulbul Bora, self-styled 'corporal and weapon training
instructor', killed in an encounter in Mahakhuli, Nagaon.
-
April 22 ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter with security forces in Nalbari
district Kokrajhar police recover the dead body of a girl from Hatimatha
-
April
20: Seven ULFA terrorists surrender at Laipuli in Tinsukia. One more terrorist
surrenders at Barhampur camp, Nagaon.
-
April
19: Two United Liberation Front of Asom
ULFA terrorists killed
in an encounter at Barandhara
under the Ghagrapaar police station limits of Nalbari.
-
April
18: A ULFA terrorist
identified as Bikash Das killed
in an encounter at Dahkaunia under the Nalbari police station limits.
A suspected ULFA conduit identified as Deepak Roy arresed in Gossaigaon Natabari village under
the Tamarhat police station limits of Kokarajhar district.
-
April 17: One unidentified ULFA terrorist
killed in an encounter at Pipla village under Patacharkuchi
police station limits in Nalbari.
-
April
15: Bagaribari police personnel arrest
two Muslim Revolutionary Democratic Front (MRDF) terrorists
from the Sonkosh.
-
April 13: Two ULFA terrorists
injured in an encounter at the North Bishnupur area, Nalbari.
-
April 12: Jorhat police arrest
one ULFA ‘acting district commander’ Jagat Phukan of Dhansiri Anchalik
Parishad.
-
April 8: One ULFA terrorist
killed by near Hathigor in Darrang .
-
April 7: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter at Balilessa Soondartala
in Nalbari district. ULFA observes its ‘raising day’.
-
April 4: ULFA
chairman, Arabinda Rajkhowa, rejects the safe-passage offer by the
Assam government.
-
April 3: One
ULFA terrorist surrenders at Barhampur camp, Nagaon.
-
March 30: One
ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter at Dalledela village under
Phulbari police station limits in West Garo hills district of Meghalaya.
-
March 29: ULFA
terrorist killed in an encounter at Bihira village near Nalbari,
Assam.
-
March 24: ULFA
reiterates preconditions- venue for talks should be a third country,
should be under United Nations (UN) supervision; and ‘sovereignty’
should also be discussed, for talks, indicate reports.
A self-styled 'sergeant major' Dilip Saloi alias Bhaiti Adhikary
killed in Kamrup encounter, Assam.
Separately, A self-styled commander of ‘B’ Group, Arantu Hazarika
alias Dwipen Talukdar killed in an encounter at Arikuchi Balagaon
in Nalbari district on March 22.
-
March 22: Two
ULFA terrorists, including a woman cadre, killed in an encounter
in a reserve forest under the Patacharkuchi police station limits
of Barpeta district, Assam.
-
March 20: ULFA
terrorist surrenders before the Nagaon district police chief in
Assam.
-
March 19: Seven
ULFA terrorists- four at Akhara, 70 kilometres west of Guwahati
and three in Dhubri killed in separate encounters in Assam.
Separately one ULFA terrorist killed in Kamrup and another arrested
in Nalbari.
-
March 18: Suspected
ULFA terrorists kill a trader at Bhatipara village under Boko police
station limits, Kamrup in Assam.
-
March 17: Five
ULFA terrorists -three from Balipara village and one each from Shanristipur
in Nalbari and Nagaon arrested in Assam.
-
March 16: One
ULFA terrorist killed near No. 2 Bongaon under the Tihu police station
limits, Assam.
-
March 7: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in the Ripu Reserve Forest area, near Gossaigaon,
Assam.
-
March 5: One
ULFA terrorist killed in Niljulki village, Nalbari district, Assam.
-
March 3: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in Nemukur Konwargaon, near
Bokota, in Sibasagar district, Assam.
-
February 27:
ULFA terrorist killed in encounter at Gugoloni under Naharkotia
police station limits in Assam
-
February 24:
Four ULFA terrorists killed at Boragaon in Tinsukia district in
Assam.
-
February 22:
One ULFA terrorist killed at Dhantola in Nalbari, Assam.
-
February 20:
One ULFA terrorist killed in the Dirok reserved forest area, Tinsukia
in Assam.
-
February 19:
ULFA terrorist killed near Guwahati.
Suspected ULFA terrorists kill two youths at Bistupur in Nalbari,
Assam.
-
February 14:
Five ULFA terrorists killed near the Assam border with Arunachal
Pradesh.
-
February 10:
Two Surrendered ULFA (SULFA) terrorists killed at Naharbari Kopili
Xatra near Mangaldai.
-
February 3:
ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter near Birubari Nizorapar in
Guwahati, Assam.
-
January 31:
Three ULFA terrorists killed neat Boko in Kamrup district, Assam.
-
January 29:
A ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter at the Dibru-Saikhowa reserved
forest near Doomdooma, Assam.
-
January 27:
ULFA terrorists kill two security force (SF) personnel in Kamrup
district, Assam. Ten others injured in a separate attack in Golaghat.
-
January 22:
A ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter in the Raimana Reserve Forest
area near Gosssaigoan.
-
January 20:
Four ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter at Toli village near
Agomani on the Assam-Bangladesh.
-
January 9: Two
ULFA terrorists killed in Kokrajhar, Assam.
-
January 1: United
Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) offered a 30-day safe passage by
the Assam government.
2001
-
December 30:
Suspected ULFA terrorists kill a Congress (I) activist near Bejkuchi
village, under Nalbari police station limits.
A ULFA terrorist killed under the Duni police station limits, Darrang
district.
-
December 28:
Suspected ULFA terrorist killed under the Kalaigaon police station
limits in Assam.
-
December 23:
Two ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter in Nijkhusla, Kamrup
district in Assam.
-
December 21:
Six Surrendered ULFA (SULFA) activists arrested in Shantinagar,
near Guwahati in Assam.
-
December 20:
Three ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter near Suwagpur, Darrang
district, Assam.
-
December 18:
Five ULFA terrorists-three in Nalbari and two in Sadiya along the
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, killed in Assam.
-
December 15:
Three ULFA terrorists arrested from the Motapam village near Dholaghat
in Tinsukia district.
-
December 9:
One ULFA terrorist killed an encounter and two others arrested in
Khoirabari and Darrang districts respectively.
-
December 6:
One ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter near Kumsung in Tinsukia
district, Assam.
-
December 2:
Reports indicate ULFA likely to ‘close’ camps in Bhutan.
-
November 27:
ULFA declares as a ‘protest day’. Its Arabinda Rajkhowa appeals
for a political settlement.
-
November 23:
Three ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter near Bolajhar in Darrang.
-
November 21:
ULFA terrorist killed in an encounter in the Dangori Reserve Forest
area. Two ULFA terrorists arrested separately in Guwahati.
-
November 18:
Suspected ULFA terrorists kill Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) leader in
Rangajan village, Tinsukia in Assam.
-
November 10:
‘Chief’ of ULFA platoon division arrested in Siliguri, West Bengal.
-
November 5:
Two ULFA terrorists arrested in Dhubri.
-
October 22:
Three ULFA terrorists killed in Bholpur under Tamulpur police station
limits in Nalbari, Assam.
Five ULFA terrorists surrender in Nalbari.
-
October 21:
ULFA terrorist killed in encounter at Donjargaon in Nalbari, Assam.
-
October 20:
Two ULFA terrorists killed in encounter near the Dikcham Tea Estate,
Rajgarh, in Dibrugarh district, Assam.
-
October 18:
Two ULFA terrorists lynched by the locals in Bijupara, Kamrup district
in Assam.
Security forces kill one ULFA terrorist in Darrang.
-
October 17:
Two ULFA terrorists arrested at Balikuchi village under the Nalbari
police station jurisdiction.
-
October 15:
ULFA ‘publicity secretary’ along with 10 others surrender in Lajpuli,
Tinsukia.
-
October 11:
Four ULFA terrorists surrender in Golaghat.
Kamrup ULFA ‘area commander’ killed at Patharkmhah in Ri Bhoi, Meghalya.
-
October 8: Two
ULFA terrorists surrender in Jorhat.
-
October 6: Central
Bureau of Investigation (CBI) personnel arrest five ULFA terrorists
in connection with Tinsukia district police chief murder in May
1996.
-
September 27:
Two ULFA terrorists and one Army personnel killed in encounter at
Kumarigaon in Mahadevpur area along the Assam-Nagaland border.
-
September 21:
Two Army personnel killed in an ULFA-triggered bomb-blast near Kakapathar
Kumchang Tea Estate. Another succumbs to injuries later.
-
August 17: The
ULFA reiterates its earlier pre-conditions for a peace process to
be initiated. These are: (1) Talks would have to be held at a mutually
decided venue outside India. (2) Talks would have to be held under
the supervision of the United Nations. (3) The main issue to be
discussed is 'sovereignty' for Assam.
-
August 5: Three
ULFA terrorists killed and five security force personnel injured
in an encounter at Nalapara village along the Indo-Bhutan border
in Darrang district.
-
July 29: Two
CRPF security force personnel and a driver of the vehicle they were
travelling in killed and five more security force personnel injured
in an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) explosion caused by suspected
ULFA terrorists at Bhalukjuli in Goalpara district.
-
July 27: ULFA
Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, addressing the outfit's Martyr Day celebrations,
calls for a referendum in the State to decide the issue of sovereignty
for which the outfit is fighting. He adds that his organisation
wants a ‘political solution’ to the 'Indo-Assam conflict.’
-
July 17: ULFA,
in its mouthpiece Freedom, calls upon the NSCN-IM to review its
stand on an extended Nagalim to 'avoid being projected as a chauvinistic
outfit'.
-
July 6: Media
reports suggest that the ULFA 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Baruah
has been injured in an explosion at the residence of a political
activist of the Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal in Bangladesh, Mir Kasim
Ali.
-
June 13: Three
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter at Lainagar Dimrohala in
Dibrugarh district.
-
June 6: 12 security
force personnel injured in a pre-dawn rocket attack by suspected
ULFA terrorists on a Central Resrve Police Force (CRPF) camp at
Dhupdhara in Goalpara district.
-
June 4: Three
ULFA terrorists killed and five police personnel injured in an encounter
at Dhalajan Fatagaon in Jorhat district.
-
May 3: Six AGP
activists killed and 16 civilians injured in separate attacks by
suspected ULFA terrorists in Nalbari and Goalpara districts.
-
May 2: An AGP
office holder and another AGP activist killed in an attack by suspected
ULFA terrorists at Raniganj in Bilasipara.
-
May 1: The general
secretary of the State unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP),
and also the party's candidate from Dibrugarh constituency, Jayanta
Dutta and four other persons were killed and nine others injured
in separate ULFA attacks in Dibrugarh town.
-
April 29: Twelve
AGP activists were injured as suspected ULFA terrorists exploded
a grenade near 'Janata Bhawan', the official residence of the Chief
Minister in Guwahati.
-
April 25: The
then Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta, addressing a press conference
in Guwahati, alleges that ULFA terrorists in connivance with the
Congress Party were targeting the AGP candidates.
-
April 24: Two
AGP activists were killed by ULFA terrorists at Diwanpara and Chakihali
Bazar of Bongaigaon district.
-
April 15: Three
security force personnel were killed in an attack by ULFA terrorists
near the Paneri police station in Darrang district.
-
March 30: Five
ULFA terrorists killed in two separate encounters in the Tengi village
of Tinsukia district and Kalakuchi village of Nalbari district.
-
March 17: Three
youths, suspected to be police informers, were first abducted and
later killed by ULFA terrorists at Burinagar village in Nalbari
district.
-
March 15: Six
ULFA terrorists belonging to the outfit's 'Enigma Unit' killed in
an encounter in a forest area under Krishnai police station in Goalpara
district. On the same day, six ULFA terrorists, led by the outfit's
Kamrup district 'operation commander' Raju Ahmed surrender at Baihata
Chariali in Kamrup district.
-
February 24:
ULFA's Kamrup 'district commander' shot dead. On the same day, eight
ULFA terrorists are arrested.
-
February 23:
Six ULFA terrorists killed and three more injured in an encounter
with security forces in Meghalaya, at Garobadha in the West Garo
hills district, on the Assam-Meghalaya border.
-
February 12:
ULFA threatens wild life campaigner Vivek Menon for campaigning
against poaching of elephants and rhinos in the State.
-
February 2:
Three ULFA terrorists were killed in an encounter in the Mazgaon
area, Bongaigaon district. On the same day, 13 ULFA terrorists,
including the outfit's 'foreign liaison officer', 'communication
officer' and 'medical-in-charge', surrender at the Misa Army camp
near Nagaon.
-
January 31:
Four ULFA terrorists were killed in two separate encounters at Khangbari
and Soneswar village.
-
January 26:
123 ULFA terrorists surrendered in Guwahati.
-
January 2: Three
Surrendered ULFA (SULFA) men, including former ULFA leader Abinash
Bordoloi, were killed by suspected ULFA terrorists in Nalbari district.
2000
-
December 17:
Army sources claim that the ULFA chief, Paresh Baruah has been injured
and his deputy, Raju Baruah killed in an internecine clash in the
Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh. However, Paresh Baruah later
contacted news agencies and contradicted these reports.
-
December 13:
I D Swami, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, speaking in
the Parliament, confirms the reports that ULFA has been procuring
arms from the Chinese Army.
-
December 8:
Brother of Sasha Choudhury, 'foreign secretary' of ULFA killed by
unidentified assailants in Nalbari district.
-
December 7:
28 Hindi-speaking traders and farm workers from Bihar were killed
by suspected ULFA terrorists near Sadiya.
-
December 6:
153 ULFA terrorists surrendered in Dispur. House of Paresh Baruah,
ULFA chief, in Dhubri district attacked by unidentified miscreants.
-
November 28:
Three non-Assamese, Biharis, were killed by ULFA terrorists in Tinsukia
district.
-
November 26:
Four non-Assamese, 'Biharis' were killed by ULFA terrorists.
-
October 27:
ULFA terrorists massacred nine persons and injured 12 others in
the Nalbari district.
-
October 23:
15 persons were killed by suspected ULFA terrorists killed in two
separate incidents in Tinsukia and Dibrugarh districts.
-
September 18:
A news report stated that in a special joint operation conducted
over a period of two weeks, eighteen ULFA terrorists were killed
in Bhutan.
-
September 16:
Two hundred ULFA terrorists operating in central Assam’s Nagaon
and Morigaon districts surrendered with their ‘commander’ Pranab
Bora alias Swapnil Deka Raja.
-
September 10:
An ULFA terrorist, who was the main accused in the killing of Sanjoy
Gosh, General Secretary of an NGO, AVARD-NE, killed in an encounter
in Jorhat.
-
August 18: Four
hardcore ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter with army in Tinsukia.
-
August 15: Three
hundred ULFA terrorists including one of its top leaders Lohit Deuri
surrendered before Assam’s Chief Minister. A 'commander' of ULFA,
Anil Bora alias Basant Phukan killed in an encounter with police
in Dibrugarh.
-
August 12: Four
ULFA terrorists killed in an encounter with army in Tinsukia.
-
May 27: ULFA’s
‘Assistant Publicity Secretary’ who was also a Central Committee
leader and the editor of Freedom, Swadhinata Phukan, alias
Kabiranjan Saikia, killed in an encounter with security forces at
Gendheli, Jorhat district.
-
March 14: Chief
Minister Mahanta alleges that Pakistan's High Commissioner in Bangladesh
is playing an active role in sending ULFA terrorists to Pakistan
for arms training.
-
March 5: The
then State Veterinary Minister Hiranya Konwar escaped an assassination
attempt by ULFA terrorists near Moran, Sibsagar district.
-
February 27:
ULFA terrorists killed the then State PWD and Forest Minister, Nagen
Sharma. Four others were also killed in the attack, in Nalbari district.
1999
-
October 2: ULFA
attacks Assam Revenue Minister, Dr. Zoii Nath Sharma's convoy. Sharma
escapes unhurt while three Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) activists and
a security guard are killed.
-
September 24:
ULFA kills Dr. Pannalal Oswal, the BJP candidate for the Dhubri
Lok Sabha (Parliamentary) seat, ahead of the polls.
-
May 11: Seven
security force personnel were killed and two others injured in an
ambush laid by ULFA terrorists in Nagaon district.
-
February 4:
ULFA and three other Northeast insurgent groups launch websites
(http://www.geocities.com/CapitolHill/Congress/7434/ulfa.htm).
1998
-
December 20:
Six security force personnel and four civilians killed in an ambush
laid by ULFA terrorists in Dhubri district.
-
September 28:
Seven security force personnel killed in an ambush laid by ULFA
terrorists in Goalpara district.
-
August 24: Three
people killed in a massive bomb blast at Guwahati railway station.
ULFA claims responsibility for the incident.
-
July 24: 51
ULFA terrorists surrender.
-
May 15: ULFA
warns the Naga terrorist outfit, National Socialist Council of Nagaland
Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) about encroaching on Assamese territory. The
warning follows reported killing of a family member of a ULFA leader
by the NSCN-IM.
1997
-
July 4: Prominent
social activist Sanjoy Ghosh killed by suspected ULFA terrorists.
-
June 8: Assam
Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta escapes a bid on his life
when ULFA terrorists attack his convoy in Guwahati.
1996
-
August 19: ULFA
terrorists kill 13 security force personnel in three separate attacks.
-
May 18: ULFA
terrorists gun down Ravi Kant Singh, Superitendent of Police (SP),
Tinsukia district.
-
April 28: Lt.
Col. Devendra Tyagi shot dead by ULFA terrorists in the Kamakhya
temple, Guwahati.
-
April 25: ULFA
terrorists kill a local Congress (I) leader and four others near
Margherita town, Tinsukia district.
1995
-
November 23:
Five security force personnel and their civilian driver killed in
a ambush laid jointly by ULFA and Bodo Security Force (BdSF) terrorists.
-
August 3: ULFA
terrorists kill eight security force personnel in an ambush in Kamrup
district.
1994
-
November 20:
Central government extends ban on ULFA.
-
June 29: Security
forces arrest Pradip Gogoi, the Vice-chairman of ULFA.
1992
1991
-
July 1: ULFA
resumes terrorist activities, abducts 14 people, including an engineer,
a national of (the erstwhile) Soviet Union.
1990
-
November 28:
Central government imposes President’s rule in Assam as terrorist
activities unleashed by ULFA reach unprecedented heights. The entire
State of Assam is declared a "disturbed area"; ULFA banned under
the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967; army launches Operation
Bajrang.
-
May 9: ULFA
terrorists kill Surendra Paul, a leading tea planter, causing many
tea estate managers to flee the State.
1979
Note:Compiled from news reports and
are provisional.
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