Assam Police foils bid to form new militant outfit

Guwahati, Aug 13 (IANS) Two days ahead of Independence Day, the Assam Police have foiled a plan to float a new militant outfit in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), which bordered Bhutan and West Bengal once troubled by extremist activities, police officials said on Tuesday.

Assam’s Director General of Police, G. P. Singh highly appreciated the Kokrajhar district police for bringing out 20 youths from the jungles of the district which shares a border with Chirang.He said that the youths had been trying to form a new militant outfit for the past three to four months and police persuaded them to shun the path of violence and they agreed to do so.The youths surrendered their weapons, which included six automatic rifles, four single-shot rifles, three pistols with magazines, and five high-explosive grenades apart from assorted ammunition.“Police are interrogating the youths to know the details and to identify the people behind brainwashing them to form an armed group,” another police official said.He said that the timing of the operation to persuade the 20 youths to shun the path of militancy is particularly vital as Assam, along with the country, gears up to celebrate Independence Day on Thursday.In view of Independence Day and trouble in neighbouring Bangladesh, security measures have been beefed up Across Assa, especially in sensitive and bordering areas.The BTR, comprising five districts, had witnessed extremism for decades claiming scores of lives.The government first banned the major militant outfit – Bodoland Liberation Tigers in 2003.Subsequently, all factions of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Bodo Security Force were banned in October 1986.A total of 1,615 cadres of NDFB outfits and other factions had laid down their arms on January 30 2022, after the signing of the Bodo peace accord with the Union government on January 27, 2020, in New Delhi in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah–IANS sc/dan