Dealing a body blow to the three-decade-old extremist movement of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), security agencies in Bangladesh have reportedly arrested Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman of the banned outfit, and are likely to hand him over to India.
Rajkhowa, sources said, was arrested ?somewhere near Dhaka? late Monday night. With this, the Ulfa, established in 1979, may be left with only one top-level leader at large?self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Barua. The absence of an extradition treaty between the two countries, sources said, has stood in the way of official confirmation of Rajkhowa?s arrest.
In New Delhi, Union home minister P Chidambaram, replying to a Rajya Sabha debate on internal security, said the Ulfa is likely to make a political statement in the next few days and the government is ready for talks. ?Ulfa is in a disarray today. In the next few days, the Ulfa leadership will make a political statement. Our government is prepared to talk to Ulfa provided they abjure violence and there is no demand for sovereignty,? he said.
The arrest of Rajkhowa, whose real name is Rajib Rajkonwar, also brought out the differences between him and Paresh Barua over holding talks with the government. Sources said Rajkhowa, who is known to always carry a weapon, did not offer resistance at the time of his arrest.
Only last month, two other top Ulfa leaders, ?foreign secretary? Sasha Choudhury and ?finance secretary? Chitraban Hazarika, were arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to India. However, Union home secretary GK Pillai maintained that the two had surrendered to the authorities.
While Rajkhowa has been talking about possible peace negotiations with the government, several senior leaders like Choudhury, Hazarika and ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain (all currently in jail) have been saying Rajkhowa would take the ?final decision? on holding talks. Barua, on the other hand, has been silent, adamant that talks could only be held on the issue of sovereignty.
Incidentally, while Rajkhowa, along with Barua, is ?most wanted? for having waged war against India, his father Umakanta Rajkonwar was a freedom fighter who died a couple of years ago at age 101.
The youngest in a family of six daughters and three sons, Rajkhowa has an Interpol red corner notice against him, issued on June 4, 1997. Out of India since 1992, Rajkhowa is known to travel often to Myanmar, Bhutan, Thailand, Pakistan and other countries on a forged passport and identity card.
Referred to as ?Sir? within the Ulfa (Paresh Barua is known as ?PB? and ?Mahashay?), Rajkhowa speaks at least seven languages including English and Bengali. ?He lives on money obtained from extortion or robbery and can handle all kinds of weapons,? says the Assam police website.
In Assam, news of his arrest drew a mixed response. Litterateur Indira Goswami, who played peace-broker between Ulfa and the government three years ago, said: ?I have serious doubts that the peace process can make any headway without Paresh Barua.? Hiranya Saikia, member of the People?s Consultative Group (PCG), an 11-member team jointly picked by Rajkhowa and Barua to initiate a dialogue with the government in 2007, said: ?I don?t think there can be any fruitful talks without Paresh Barua.?
