Confirming moves by the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) to open talks with New Delhi, the outfit?s chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and armed wing deputy commander-in-chief Raju Barua on Friday ?surrendered? to Indian agencies near Dawki on the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya. They were whisked away to Guwahati and were being kept in a guest house under tight security inside the headquarters of the Assam Police 4th Battalion.
Hours later, differences within the Ulfa leadership over holding a dialogue came to the fore when its elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Barua? he remains the only important leader at large?asked Rajkhowa ?not to fall into the trap of the Indian government and declare your present stand keeping in mind the sacrifice of 12,000 martyrs who laid down their lives for an independent Assam.?
In an email statement to journalists, Barua said: ?This is nothing but dirty politics by the government of India in the name of a peace dialogue… peace talks are impossible without discussing the demand for sovereignty.? He claimed Rajkhowa, Raju Barua and another activist had been in the custody of security forces since December 2. He demanded that Rajkhowa ?clarify? his ?present stand which will help clear the confusion and puzzle engulfing the minds of the people of Assam.?
In New Delhi, home secretary GK Pillai said: ?Rajkhowa and Raju Barua have surrendered and then they were arrested. They are now in Guwahati. They will be produced in a court… They have just come. Everything will take place in due course. Wait for that.?
Asked about the fate of the family members of Rajkhowa and others, Pillai said since no cases were pending against the family members, they were free to go. ?Families are free,? he said.
BSF spokesman Ravi Gandhi, speaking from Shillong, said BSF personnel on duty ?noticed a group of people trying to cross over to India from Bangladesh near the Dawki post around 5 am? on Friday. ?When intercepted and challenged by BSF jawans, they revealed their identities and surrendered. No arms or ammunition were recovered from them,? said Gandhi.
He said the group was handed over to the Assam Police. Rajkhowa (53) was accompanied by his wife Kaberi Kachari Rajkhowa (42), sons Kamsena (13) and Gadadhar (5), deputy C-in-C Raju Barua (43), his wife Nirala (30) and their minor son, Rajkhowa?s bodyguard Raja Bora (31), Ulfa?s already arrested ?foreign secretary? Sasha Choudhury?s wife Runima (41), her son Shishir (8) and 10-month-old daughter Hema.
Rajkhowa?s ?surrender? came two days after home minister P Chidambaram told Parliament that a political statement was expected from the Ulfa leadership. On Thursday, Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi said he favoured providing safe passage to Rajkhowa if that would help facilitate peace talks.
Assam Police DGP Shankar Barua said Rajkhowa and Raju Barua had not yet been formally arrested. ?We are examining various legal requirements before formally arresting the two. We are going step by step.? Family members of the Ulfa leaders, he said, would be set free after completing formalities.
