Assam (Insurgency North East): Timeline (Terrorist Activities) -2014

A group of unidentified, armed miscreants killed a local businessman, Kulbahadur Giri, at Bagmara under Amguri police station in Chirang district on January 1, reports Times of India. Police suspected the involvement of the IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) in the incident. In a press statement, the ‘spokesman’ of the NDFB-IKS, B R Ferengga, alleged that some government-sponsored extremist elements have been carrying out criminal activities like killings of small traders and businessmen from different communities. Read less...

Two KPLT militants surrendered on January 1 along with some arms in front of the Superintendent of Police (SP) and other District administration officials in Karbi Anglong, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

SFs arrested seven KPLT linkmen from Bokajan subdivision in Karbi Anglong District on January 3 for their involvement in the recent violence in the district, reports Times of India. All of them are linkmen of the KPLT and were carrying out subversive activities on behalf of the outfit. A country-made single barrel muzzle loading (SBML) gun and some gunpowder were also found on them. According to Police, the arrested persons were allegedly involved in burning down houses of Rengma Naga villagers at several places in the subdivision on December 27, 28, and 29. Read less...

The Pro-Talks faction of NDFB (NDFB-PTF) on January 3 demanded updating of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, reports The Shillong Times. Gobinda Basumatary, ‘General Secretary’ of NDFB-PTF which is holding negotiations with the government for many years now said that this should be done keeping 1951 as the base year instead of 1971 fixed by the government.“As per our calculations, 70-80 lakh foreigners came illegally into Assam between 1951 to 1971. So updating the NRC as per the 1971 census will be completely wrong,” Basumatary claimed. Asked about the progress in talks with the government, he said it was being held for many years now, but no solution has emerged so far.Criticising violence by the anti-talk I K Songbijit group, he said “we do not support their acts at all. If reports are to be believed, they are indulging in rampant extortion, kidnapping and killing of innocent people.” Stating that acts by the rival faction could not be termed a revolution, he said “Revolution should be carried out on ideology. But their actions are completely unwanted. Read less...

A youth, believed to be from Arunachal Pradesh, was injured after being attacked by a mob near Barjharani forest gate in Behali Police Station area in Sonitpur District on January 4, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

Miscreants on January 4 killed a person, identified as D C Rongpi, son of a village headman in Karbi Anglong District, reports The Shillong Times. The man was fired upon by a few persons who claimed to have come in search of a dog from Karagaon village which is about 10 km from Dimapur in neighbouring Nagaland this evening, they said. Curfew has been clamped by the district administration along the Assam-Nagaland border areas since 5 pm on January 5 evening. There was tension in the District following the recent violence between Karbi and Rengma Naga tribes following the killing of eight persons, including two militants. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) arrested six militants of the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF) from the Borpathar area in Bokajan subdivision of Karbi Anglong district on January 4, reports Times of India. SFs recovered five Chinese grenades, as many rifles and ammunition from them. According to Police, the arrested militants were allegedly involved in the recent violence in the hill district. Read less...

Three IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) militants, identified as Sadem Narzary (19), Kanteswar Boro (20) and Anjala Basumatary (26), surrendered in Chirang District on January 4, reports The Sentinel. During the surrender, they also handed over three grenades. Read less...

The Rengma Naga People's Council (RNPC), the apex Rengma Naga body of Rengma Hills of Assam, has demanded bifurcation of the Karbi Anglong Autonomous Council (KAAC) administrative area into two parts - one representing the Rengma Hills and the other representing the Hamren subdivision of the erstwhile Mikir Hills (Karbi Anglong), reports Times of India on January 6. RNPC also said it doesn't recognize the KAAC.The RNPC issued a statement setting forth its political agenda to the people of Assam, signed off by the body's president, Shahi Rengma, and general secretary K Solomon Rengma. The RNPC said in the statement that the Rengma Hills, covering an area of approximately 8,724 square kilometres, will be the homeland of non-Karbi communities, including Rengmas, Dimasas, Adivasis, Kukis and Nepalis and mainland Indian communities, while the Hamren subdivision will be under the jurisdiction of the Karbi people. Read less...

Dismissing rumors about economic blockade to be imposed along National Highway (NH)-36 & 39, Karbi Students Association (KSA-Mirjeng Kro faction) said it has no plans to impose any kind of blockade against Nagaland, reports Nagaland Post. However, KSA has instead set a 72-hour deadline beginning January 6 on Nagaland and Assam Governments to comply with its demand of paying adequate compensation to the families of the Rengma and Karbi victims of the recent attack and assistance to the displaced persons for rehabilitation. Read less...

Five members of a faction of Manipur-based militant outfit Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) were arrested from different locations in Guwahati city on January 6, reports Times of India. Senior Superintendent of Police (City) AP Tiwari said that initially two cadres of the outfit were arrested from two hotels in Guwahati in the morning. Later, another three cadres were arrested, he said. "All the five cadres of the outfit have been taking shelter in the city in disguise," he said adding that they have already been handed over to Manipur Police. Read less...

India is looking for Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) leaders in Nepal and Myanmar where the outfit has spread its wings in nexus with other militant outfits, reports The Telegraph on January 7.Security agencies have seen the threat perception rise substantially in the past months in north Bengal and northwest Assam, sources said. The Bengal and Assam Governments, central agencies and Military Intelligence are coordinating to neutralise the upsurge in the KLO’s activities. The KLO, which wants a separate state of Kamtapur, comprising six Districts of north Bengal and four of Assam, has split its ‘financial’ and ‘military wings’, sources said. Its ‘general secretary’ Kailash Koch aka KK commands the ‘military unit’ in north Myanmar’s Sagaing division and ‘secretary (organisation)’, Rajiv alias Cobra, operates from southeastern Nepal to give the outfit its financial muscle, they added.KLO ‘supremo’ Jeevan Singh, who was in Bangladesh a few years ago, is said to have shifted base to Myanmar. In his speech on the KLO’s 20th foundation day (December 2013), Koch greeted Imphal valley-based outfits and the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland- Khaplang faction (NSCN-K), which is a major force in Sagaing. The region is a hotbed of Indian militant outfits that operate in Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Assam and Bengal. Their weapons are mostly sourced from arms bazars in Ruili, China. In lower Nepal, which borders Indian states, the KLO is active in Mechi zone. Read less...

SFs arrested four Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) linkmen from the Bokajan subdivision of Karbi Anglong district, reports Times of India. Sub divisional Police officer (Bokajan) Sankar Raimedhi said the newly deployed 10 companies of CRPF, in association with Police, detained 40 persons from separate locations on Friday night and started interrogation. "After interrogation, we arrested four of them. They are KPLT linkmen and did some subversive activities on behalf of the militant group. We have found some materials against them," he said. Read less...

The State Government has lodged formal complaints with the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and the Nagaland Government accusing the Isak-Muivah faction of militant group Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) of being involved in the brutal killing of nine Karbi youths, whose bodies were recovered from a drain near Dimapur in Nagaland on January 3, reports Times of India. Fearing a backlash in Karbi Anglong District, the State Government has asked for 25 additional companies of Central Armed Police Forces from the Centre, of which 10 have already arrived. A high-level security committee formed in Karbi Anglong on January 6 also ordered immediate setting up of Police pickets and intense patrolling in as many as 17 areas in the troubled Bokajan subdivision of the District. However, the NRHPF has reportedly claimed responsibility for the Dimapur killings adds The Telegraph. Read less...

The State Government plans to build 17 fixed Police pickets, manned by Assam Police and CRPF personnel, will be posted in three subdivisions in Karbi Anglong District, reports The Telegraph. “The government will pay a compensation of INR 600,000 to the families of those killed in the clash. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has already announced a CBI [Central Bureau of Investigation] probe into the killing of the nine persons in Nagaland,” State Forest Minister, Rokybul Hussain said on January 6. Read less...

Militant group-United Kukigam Defence Army (UKDA) of Karbi Anglong appealed to Naga Rengma Hills Protection Force (NRHPF) and the Karbi People Liberation Tiger (KPLT) to stop violence, reports Nagaland Post. Read less...

Over 3,000 people from the Karbi and Rengma Naga tribes have been taking shelter in relief camps in the Bokajan area of Karbi Anglong district since December 27 due to violent clashes between the Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) and the Rengma Naga Hills Protection Force (RNHPF), reports The Hindu. Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police Mugdhajyoti Mahanta told that as on January 6, 3,131 people had been taking shelter in nine relief camps. Of them, 1,683 are Rengma Nagas and 1,448 are Karbis. “Twenty-three people belonging to both KPLT and NRHPF have been arrested so far for their role in the recent attacks. They get arms from the NSCN and are mostly into extortion in the district,” SP, Mugdhajyoti Mahanta said adds The Telegraph. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs), in an encounter, killed two militants of the IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS), Pranab Basumatary and Angw, at Jumduar Bongaon in Kokrajhar District on January 8, reports The . SFs recovered two grenades and one 7.65mm pistol from the duo. Read less...

Karbi Anglong Superintendent of Police, Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta on January 12 announced the arrest of a Karbi People’s Liberation Tigers (KPLT) “corporal” Sarhon Teron from Karbi Anglong on January 9, reports The Telegraph. Mahanta further stated that the arrested militant led the Police to recreate the crime scene of the Khowanigaon attack which led to the Karbi-Rengma Naga violence. So far, 24 members of KPLT and Naga Rengma Hill Protection Force (NRHPF) have been arrested in connection with the attack. Read less...

Police arrested one Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) militant, in connection with Khowani village killing on December 27 from an undisclosed location, reports Nagaland Post on January 10. Read less...

SFs arrested an Adivasi National Liberation Army (ANLA) linkman, Kamal Halder, from Helem in Sonitpur District on Janaury 9, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

SFs deployed in the strife torn Rengma Naga inhabited areas of Karbi Anglong have claimed the situation was under control, particularly in Chokihola and Santipur area of the district since January 9, reports Nagaland Post. Night curfews were still being imposed in the areas to ward off any untoward incident. Inspector–General (IG), S.N. Singh said police and security forces have intensified patrolling in all sensitive areas and 15 additional companies have been deputed. 16 fixed police pickets have been made operational in sensitive locations. Currently, 3800 villagers have been lodged in nine relief camps located in Bokajan subdivision. Read less...

The Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) observed its raising day on January 9 in two separate undisclosed locations – one at the central headquarters in east Karbi Anglong and the other at the general headquarters in west Karbi Anglong respectively, Ranam Lijang, ‘general secretary in-charge’ of the militant outfit informed, reports The Assam Tribune. Ranam Lijang informed that a seminar on the autonomous State under the provision of Article-244 (A) of the Indian Constitution was also organised on the occasion. The militant organisation said that an Autonomous State comprising Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao is the constitutional right of the people of the hill districts. The militant leader further said that if the government fails to solve the vexed issue, the KPLT would be forced to intensify its arms movement to achieve its goal. Read less...

The Naga Rengma Hill Protection Force (NRHPF), which claimed responsibility for killing nine persons, whose bodies were recovered near Dimapur, was floated by the National Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) for protection of the Rengma Naga people living in Karbi Anglong, reports The Assam Tribune. Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that simmering tension was brewing in the hill district for some time as different organizations representing Karbi and Rengma Naga groups were giving statements against each other and some organizations even started demanding autonomy for the Rengma Naga people living in the hill District. Read less...

More than 19,000 foreigners who came to the state between 1966 and March 25, 1971, have not registered their names with the Foreigners' Regional Registration Offices (FRRO) as stipulated by the Citizenship Act, 1955, reports Times of India. The state political department on Thursday issued an instruction to these people to register their names with the FRRO at the offices of the superintendents of police in their districts by January 16. Read less...

The Breakaway Faction of Achik National Volunteer Council (ANVC-B) on January 10 claimed that its ‘chairman’ Rimpu Marak had a role retaining Mukul Sangma as the Chief Minister when there was a tussle for power during the last term, reports The Shillong Times. In an open letter addressed to the Chief Minister and released to the media, Ajaju .R. Marak, ‘political secretary’ of ANVC-B alleged that though the Chief Minister is denying his closeness with the ‘chairman’ of ANVC-B, the militant outfit reminded the Chief Minister so as to who met him in Delhi Meghalaya House last term when all his legislators deserted him, leaving Abdus Saleh alone by his side? “You must recall who met you and rendered support if it was not for our ‘chairman’ who instructed Mokus (commander-in-chief of ANVC-B) to call up all Garo MLAs to lend support to you for the sake of ‘peace’ in Garo Hills and in the interest of hundreds of youths who would join mainstream if settlement happened under your leadership”, the ANVC-B said. The militant outfit also alleged that the ‘Chairman’ signed the pact, “which was incomplete leaving us out of it”. The ANVC-B also threatened to go back to jungle and return only to bring down Mukul Sangma -led Government. Read less...

Union Home Minister (UHM) Sushilkumar Shinde on January 10 said the situation is under control, reports The Assam Tribune. Replying to questions while presenting his monthly status report today, Shinde declined to term the law-and-order situation as good. Though it would not be proper to say the law-and-order situation is good in Karbi Anglong but the situation is under control, he said. Read less...

The Karbi Anglong District administration said the process to send the Rengma Naga and Karbi villagers taking shelter in relief camps back to their homes will begin tomorrow. There are 3,131 people taking shelter in nine relief camps, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

A Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) leader on January 14 said the outfit was ready for “unconditional” talks with the state and the Centre as it wants peace, reports The Telegraph. The leader who identified himself as KLO ‘assistant general secretary’ Pradeep Roy alias P.N. Koch spoke over phone to The Telegraph from an undisclosed location.“We have come to know that Trinamool leaders have expressed the desire to sit for talks with us. I am speaking on behalf of our outfit,” said Koch. The KLO leader said the outfit would sit for talks if the government approached it in a “respectful” manner. The KLO wants a separate state of Kamtapur to be carved out of the six north Bengal districts and four contiguous districts, Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Dhubri and Goalpara in Assam. Read less...

The Independent faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) on January 15 executed one of its leaders accusing him of involvement in activities detrimental to the group, reports The Shillong Times. ULFA-I’s Arunodoi Asom said the executed leader, Partha Asom alias Partha Pratim Gogoi, was the ‘assistant finance secretary’ and an ‘operational commander’ in the outfit. There were eight major allegations against Partha Asom. He leaked ULFA plans to police and security forces. He was also accused of planning to surrender to Police on January 26.He was executed after all the allegations were proved with documentary evidence.” Read less...

Hundreds of people raised slogans against Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) ‘Commander-in-Chief’ Paresh Baruah on January 16 at ULFA's birthplace in Sivasagar as they escorted the body of the outfit's assistant finance secretary, Partha Partim Gogoi, who was executed Baruah's orders for 'conspiring with Assam Police" against the outfit, reports Times of India. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs), in an encounter, killed a hardcore NDFB-IKS militant in Kokrajhar District, reports Zee News on January 17. Read less...

The ‘chairman’ of S K Thadou faction of United Tribal Liberation Army (UTLA), S K Thadou, who was injured in an ambush at Jiribam in Manipur on Janaury 15, is undergoing treatment at the intensive care unit of the Silchar Medical College Hospital (SMCH), reports Times of India. Sources in SMCH on Thursday said the injured militant leader's condition continues to remain critical. UTLA- S K Thadou is a suspension of operations (SoO) signatory. Read less...

The manager, Bharat Singh Rathore (48), of Pabhoi tea estate was abducted by militants from his bungalow in Sonitpur District on January 16, reports The Telegraph. Sonitpur Superintendent of Police (SP), Arabinda Kalita on January17 said, “We gather Adivasi militants were involved in the abduction and a search operation is on to rescue the tea estate manager”. Read less...

The Rengma Naga People's Council (RNPC), the apex body of the Rengma Nagas in Assam, urged Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde to immediately initiate a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the recent violence in Karbi Anglong as well as the killings in Dimapur (Nagaland), reports Times of India on January 17. A representation, signed by RNPC ‘president’ Shahi K Rengma and general secretary K Solomon Rengma, stated that the Karbis have also accused the Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) of orchestrating trouble in Assam. They added that the allegation needs to be investigated since it relegates the sufferings of the Rengma Nagas and their decades-old agitation for political identity to the sidelines. Read less...

At least six persons were killed when suspected IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) militants pulled down about a dozen persons from a bus and opened fire at them at Serfanguri in Kokrajhar District on January 17, reports The Indian Express. An Assam Police official said the bus was on its way from Siliguri in West Bengal to Shillong when a group of armed militants intercepted it on NH-31 at Athiabari under Serfanguri Police Station. Read less...

Director General of Police, Khagen Sharma on January 17 said that the Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) led by Paresh Baruah is trying to regroup insurgent outfits and (CPI-Maoist) and might convene a meeting of the groups next week, reports Nagaland Post. DGP,Khagen Sharma said, “Paresh Baruah is bringing northeast militant groups together. He has invited them and the Maoists for a meeting next week. Outside support like that of the ISI’s, is also there,” Sharma told reporters here. The Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) active in Assam and West Bengal as well as the anti-talk National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit) group were also invited by Baruah for the meeting. This kind of experiment has failed earlier. If they regroup, we will have joint operations with other NE states,” Sharma asserted. The DGP said, the Government would like to see Paresh Baruah participate in the ongoing peace talks with the ULFA faction headed by Arabinda Rajkhowa. To a query on which subversive group was the biggest threat to Assam now, Sharma said, “The Maoists are the biggest threat. They have about 100 trained cadres in the state and many supporters.” Read less...

National Socialist Council of Adivasis (NSCA) militants killed Tea tribe leader Niranjan Patra inside his house at Sekoni tea estate in Nagaon District on January 17, reports The Telegraph. Nagaon Superintendent of Police Bibekraj Singh said preliminary investigations had revealed that the youths who killed Patra were known to the victim. The SP said three Adivasi youths of Patra’s locality had floated an outfit, Adivasi Tribal Force [ATF], in 2013 to launch an extortion drive. Soon after, they were arrested and after about three months, released on bail. Subsequently, they are suspected to have floated the NSCA”. Read less...

Suspected militants belonging to Zakir Bahini, a faction of United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA), abducted two traders, Nishith Das (27) and Tiklu Kumar Das (28), from Ramnathpur under Katlicherra block in Hailakandi District on January 17, reports Times of India. Further, Security Forces were ambushed by militants when they reached the remote Boincherra village on the other side of Dholewari River on Janaury 18 morning. Read less...

The All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), currently in ceasefire with the Union and State Governments, on January 17 alleged Government apathy towards the problems faced by the Adivasis, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) militants attacked Muslim villagers, killing one Imran Ali, and injuring four others in the Panbari area of Chirang District on January 18, reports Times of India. Read less...

Suspected NDFB-IKS militants killed Bishom Sharma, a Hindi-speaking barber, near his salon at Harisinga in Udalguri District on January 18, reports Times of India. Read less...

The Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) has said that they are not ready for tripartite talks with the Government of India and the reports appeared in certain newspapers could be the sinister design of Government to create mistrust among the community, reports The Sentinel on January 19. Read less...

An NDFB-IKS ‘release’ alleged that the repeated killing of innocent Bodo civilians by the security forces had made the outfit restless, reports The Telegraph on January 20. “We are not against any Indian community. We respect each and every community of the world as human beings if they respect our nationality. Since many years, Indian security forces have tortured, humiliated and killed innocent indigenous Bodo civilians and harassed the family members of NDFB cadres mentally and physically,” the release, signed by B. Saoraigwra, the ‘interim general secretary’ of NDFB-IKS, said. It warned security forces against “violating human rights and killings innocent civilians”. Read less...

Assam Director General of Police (DGP), Khagen Sarma, stated that the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) is behind the unification bid of Northeastern militants, reports The Shillong Times on January 20. DGP, Khagen Sarma said, “It is the Pakistani ISI and other external forces that are behind the fresh initiative taken by ‘commander in chief’ of United Liberation Front of Assam (anti-talks) to form a common force on all the insurgent groups based in Northeast to fight Indian security forces.” Read less...

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi ordered intensification of operation against NDFB-IKS in coordination with Army and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), reports The Assam Tribune. Read less...

NDFB-IKS militants shot at and injured a trader, Bikram Rai, at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

NDFB-IKS militants shot dead a trader, Gaur Kundu (38), at Mangolchora bazaar under Bogaribari Police Station of Dhubri District on January 19, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

Security sources have reportedly admitted that among all the active militant groups in Assam, the NDFB-IKS has the strongest presence on the ground and the cadres of the outfit are also well trained, reports The Assam Tribune. Sources revealed that the outfit has strong presence in the areas along the border with Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh and around 100 of its members are operating within Assam. An equal number of its members are in Myanmar, where the outfit has two major camps. The ‘chairman’ of the outfit, IK Songbijit is in Myanmar, and most of the operations in Assam are masterminded by another top leader B. Bidai, who is the ‘deputy commander in chief’ of the outfit. Sources revealed that according to an input, the members of the outfit on the ground have been directed to target Police and Security Forces. Read less...

The Telegraph reports that the State Government will intensify action against the NDFB-IKS in the BTAD by carrying out joint Army-Police Counter-Insurgency operations in the aftermath of the sudden spree of killings in the Bodo belt. Assam Parliamentary Secretary (Home) Atuwa Munda said the decision was taken at a meeting of the Unified Command held in Guwahati on January 19 in which the security scenario of the State was reviewed. Read less...

The All Bodoland Minority Students Union (ABMSU) on January 20 observed 24-hour bandhs (General strike) in the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD) in protest against the National Democratic Front of Bodoland-IK Songbijit faction (NDFB-IKS) attacks in the State, reports The Telegraph. Also, the All Assam Bhojpuri Yuva Chhatra Parishad (AABYCP) a 36-hour bandh from 5 AM on January 20 protesting the killing of Hindi- speaking people by NDFB-IKS adds Business Standard. Read less...

Police arrested ‘commander-in-chief’ of Karbi National Liberation Army (KNLA),Ysong Bey, along with two other militants from a hideout near Diphu Railway Station in Karbi Anglong District on January 21, reports The Shillong Times. Police seized two foreign-made pistols of 7.6 caliber and three bullets from the arrested ultras, along with mobile phones and incriminating documents. According to Police, the other two arrested have been identified as Arjat Enghi and Tensing Ronghang. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) exchanged fire with a group of IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) militants, during an operation in the jungles near Dimajuli village in the Assam-Bhutan bordering areas in Chirang district, reports The Times of India. Though SFs could not arrest or kill any of these militants, they believe that one of the militants was hit."We have nabbed two linkmen and one sympathizer on Monday and recovered some extortion letters and incriminating documents too," said an officer of Chirang Police. Read less...

SFs on January 21 arrested a ULFA-I militant, identified as Raju Haloi, from the Guwahati city's Basistha area (Kamrup Metro). Police said that Haloi was planted there by ULFA-I's 'western commander' Drishti Rajkhowa to trigger a blast, reports Times of India. Read less...

State Director General of Police (DGP) Khagen Sarma on January 21 held a meeting in the conference hall of the Chirang Superintendents of Police (SP) office at Kajalgaon with top officials of the Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB), Border Security Force (BSF), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Army and SPs of five Districts – Bongaigaon, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Dhubri and Goalpara to discuss measures to be taken against the militant groups active in the five lower Assam districts, reports The Assam Tribune. Responding to a query, the DGP said a plan had been made for operations against the NDFB-IKS, Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), Adivasi militants and some smaller armed groups associated with displaced people in Chirang and Kokrajhar districts. Regarding Bhutan’s help in flushing out the NDFB militants allegedly taking shelter in the bordering areas, the DGP said, “Bhutan is very co-operative. But when the militants get inside the jungle it becomes a problem to locate them.” On the close links between the NDFB-IKS and KLO, Sarma added that the NDFB-IKS and KLO have mutual links. Read less...

Suspected Kamatapur Liberation Organization (KLO) militants shot dead a businessman, identified as Sudhangshu Sarkar (52), at Khukshi Bao Bazaar under Fakiragram Police Station in Kokrajhar District on January 21, reports Times of India. Read less...

The Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) has threatened to target Bengali-speaking refugees in lower Assam and North Bengal areas, if SFs continue their alleged torture of Koch-Rajbongshis, reports The Telegraph. In a recent press release by the KLO ‘general secretary’ Kailash Koch, the organisation has threatened the Bengal and Assam governments that it might target refugees in north Bengal and lower Assam districts, if the alleged torturing of the Koch-Rajbongshi did not stop. Koch alleged that a joint team of Bengal and Assam police had arrested the sister and brother-in-law of their “deputy commander-in chief”, other protesters and Koch Rajbongshi from several areas with fake notes and tortured them without any reason.“We strongly condemn the police action and called a 24-hour bandh on January 12 (later postponed to January 17) because of the harassment meted out to innocent Koch-Rajbongshis. Unless the Bengal and Assam Governments stop this and release the arrested people, we might be compelled to take action against Bengali refugees,” the statement said. Read less...

The manager of Pabhoi Tea Estate at Biswanath Chariali in Sonitpur District, Bharat Singh Rathod, who was abducted from his bungalow in the garden on January 16, was released by his captors on January 21 at Namara near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, reports The Times of India. IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) is suspected to be behind the incident. Read less...

The State Police Headquarters declared 15 members of the NDFB-IKS, including its chief Songbijit Ingti Kathar (IK Songbijit), as 'most wanted', reports Times of India. Assam Police said valuable information leading to the arrest of these 15 NDFB-IKS militants will be worth INR 9.5 million. "A cash award of INR 10 lakh has been announced against the ‘chairman’ of the faction, IK Songbijit. Besides, anyone giving valuable information against the outfit's ‘general secretary’ B Saoraigwra, ‘publicity and military secretary’ C Rwikha and the faction's ‘spokesperson’, Ranjit Basumatary, will also be awarded in the same manner. Anyone, who will help police in arresting these militants alive or in any condition, will be awarded and their names will be kept secret," said IGP (law and order) SN Singh on January 20. The other militants, whose names were included in the list, were NDFB-IKS ‘deputy army chief’ G Bidai, ‘eastern commandant’ Birbai alias B Birbaisa, ‘western commandant’ Binod Mushahary, ‘West Bengal commandant’ B Rwimwilu, ‘deputy commandant of central command’ B Birlangbai alias Lengra, ‘deputy commandant’ of Dhubri’ Ronoj, ‘platoon commander’ of Rangapara area (28th batch cadre of NDFB) B Jarimin alias Jaydroth, ‘senior cadres’ Naihab, Jwblang, B Mwdan and Gobinda Rava. Out of the 15 NDFB-IKS militants listed, its chief, IK Songbijit, was listed as a 'Karbi' and Govinda as 'Rabha' youths. The others were listed as 'Bodos'. Read less...

Guwahati City Police's operations wing released images of two Independent Faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) militants on January 22 who they suspect have possible entered the city with explosives, reports The Times of India. Superintendent of Police (operations wing) said, "According to our information, two ULFA-I militants, identified as Bapon Deka and Nayanmoni Rajbongshi, are on a mission to trigger explosions in Guwahati ahead of Republic Day celebrations. That's why we have released their photographs so that people, apart from becoming aware, can also give valuable information to police." Read less...

In the wake of IK Songbijit Faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) increasing its violent activities, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has asked Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) to begin undertaking special counter-insurgency operations in the State and check the actions of the group, reports The Shillong Times. SSB has been asked to create a Special Operations Group (SOG) in its battalions which will take on the NDFB primarily in the Districts of Chirang, Udalguri, Kokrajhar and Baksa. Read less...

Journalists Forum Assam (JFA) appealed to the people of the North East to defy the diktat of separatists and celebrate Republic Day on January 26, reports The Shillong Times. The JFA, in a statement on January 22, also urged various local press clubs, press guilds and other media organisations across the region to celebrate the Day. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs), in an encounter, killed a militant of Independent faction of United liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) in Goalpara District along the Assam-Meghalaya border on January 22, reports Assam Times. According to information, the encounter took place day after Police arrested an ULFA-linkman. Read less...

The 22–hour Kokrajhar District bandh (general Strike) call given by the All Assam Bengali Youth Students’ Federation (AABYSF) in protest against the killing of a trader, Sudhangshu Sarkar (52), hit the normal life in Kokrajhar District on January 22, reports The Sentinel. Read less...

The Central Government has warned the Ranjan Daimary faction of NDFB (NDFB-RD) that its cadres straying out of designated camps without approval would be treated on a par with militants from the NDFB-IKS, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

A daily wage earner, identified as Pradip (14), escaped with mild injuries when suspected IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS) militants lobbed a grenade near a petrol pump at Dhekiajuli in Sonitpur District on January 23, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) has called for a 96-hour Karbi Anglong bandh starting January 24 (today) from 5 a.m, reports Nagaland Post. The bandh has been called to boycott the Republic Day celebrations in the district. In a statement, KPLT’s ‘acting general secretary’ Ranam Lijang termed the “Indian Republic as worthless body and...should be viewed as black day. People should abstain from observing Indian Republic day”. Read less...

President of the Bodo Sahitya Sabha (BSS), Kameswar Brahma on January 23 said the recent attacks by the NDFB-IKS and other militant groups in the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) areas have tarnished the reputation of the Bodo community, reports The Telegraph. “Acts of violence in the BTAD have also posed a barrier to the overall development of Bodos. All militants groups must act sensibly and shun violence in order for the Bodo community to be established as a force to be reckoned with,” Brahma said. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) arrested one Karbi People’s Liberation Tiger (KPLT) militant, identified as Son Taro alias Bulet Taro, from the Langparpan area under Howraghat Police Station in Karbi Anglong District on January 23, reports Nagaland Post. Read less...

SFs arrested a Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) militant, Indrajit Roy alias Dabang, from Chhagulia in Dhubri District on January 23, reports Nagaland Post. Read less...

Tension prevails in and around Kokrajhar following the attack on a motorcycle rally taken out by the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF)’s youth wing by some minority community youths at Monakosha village in Kokrajhar District on January 23, reports The Assam Tribune. According to sources, some minority community youths attacked the motorcycle rally with lethal weapons and damaged a number of vehicles, besides injuring some Youth BPF members. Soon after the incident police rushed to the spot and controlled the situation. Four youths were arrested in this connection. Read less...

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has registered an open First Information Report (FIR) against ULFA-I under various sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), reports Times of India. This is the first case registered by NIA against ULFA-I. The open-ended case with no accused mentioned in the FIR will help NIA investigate any case or incident committed by the outfit and gives it powers to arrest any of its leaders in connection with the case. It effectively brings top ULFA-I leaders such as Anup Chetia, under detention in Bangladesh, and Paresh Baruah, suspected to be hiding in Myanmar, under NIA radar. Read less...

All Koch-Rajbongshi Student’s Union (AKRSU) ‘president’ Biswajit Ray on January 24 asked Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to clear their stand on granting Scheduled Tribe status to the community and creation of Kamtapur on Republic Day (January 26), reports The Telegraph. Read less...

SFs arrested a KPLT militant, Kensing Ronghang, from Karbi Anglong District on January 24, reports The Sentinel. Read less...

SFs arrested one Nationalist Socialist Council of Nagaland-Isak-Muivah (NSCN-IM) militant and one overground worker of the outfit from Lodi Village of Dima Hasao District, reports The Sentinel on Janaury 25. The security men recovered one .9 mm pistol, three .9 mm live rounds and two mobile handsets with three SIM cards. Read less...

State Police on January 24 announced cash rewards of INR 6.2 miilion for those who can provide information about 11 militants of the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) and seven cadres of the NDFB-IKS, reports The Telegraph. The KLO list includes four top leaders, ‘commander-in-chief’ Nityananda Sarkar alias Shyam Ray, ‘general secretary’ Keshab Barman, ‘assistant organising secretary’ Lal Chand Deka and ‘cultural secretary’ Digambar Rai alias Jibon Koch. Cash rewards of INR 500,000 each have been announced against the quartet while INR 300,000 each will be given for information provided on another seven cadres. Read less...

The Gauhati High Court asked the Central Government and State Government to clear their stand on granting Scheduled Tribe (ST) status to the Koch Rajbongshi community within the next two months, reports Times of India. Read less...

Two suspected Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) militants were killed in a blast at about 7 kilometre from Umrangshu area in Dima Hasao District on January 24 when the bomb they were carrying in a vehicle exploded, reports The Telegraph. Umrangshu Police believe the two were on their way to Meghalaya from Lanka in Nagaon District. The Police have identified them as Sahabuddin and Aminuddin of Lanka (Nagaon District). Read less...

public nabbed one NDFB-IKS militant, identified as Prem Kumar Basumatary (18), at Tungkurmari area under Sidli Police Station of Chirang District on January 25, reports The Sentinel. Read less...

SFs arrested three Karbi Peoples Liberation Tigers (KPLT) cadres, ‘area commander of Diring area’ Bijoy Terang, Robin Engti, Lawrence Terang, from Dolamara locality under Borpathar Police Station of Karbi Anglong District on January 25, reports The Sentinel. SFs recovered one 7,65 mm pistol and few bullets, four mobile phone and large quantity of extortion notes from them. Read less...

Assam Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik on January 26 (Republic Day) appealed the underground militant groups to abjure violence and come to the discussion table to solve the issues for an overall development of the state. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) arrested three Karbi National Liberation Army (KNLA) militants from different locations in Karbi Anglong District on January 26, reports The Sentinel. Konglong Tisso alias Muzari and Joy Bey were arrested at Baghpani under Dokmoka Police Station. In another incident, Kangbura Bey was arrested under the Chokihola Police Station in the District. Read less...

Security Forces (SFs) arrested two hardcore cadres of IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-IKS), Subaw Daimari and Agar Swargiary, from a hideout of Borthol locality of Karbi Anglong District on January 26, reports Nagaland Post. One A K 47 rifle with 21 bullets and one .32 pistol along with 2 magazines and 11 bullets were seized from their possession. Read less...

Goalpara Police recovered a huge amount of arms and ammunitions used by ULFA-I (Independent) from the Assam-Meghalaya border in the Goalpara District on January 27, report The Telegraph. The Police said a group of ULFA-I militants entered Hatigaon, a village under Agia Police Station, with arms and explosive materials, including 300 bullets and eight detonators. The group of militants kept the arms inside a rubber plantation. “We got the information that a group had under the leadership of Drishti Rajkhowa brought the ammunition from Bangladesh”, said Goalpara Superintendent of Police (SP) Nitul Gogoi. Read less...

Police arrested a Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP) militant, T.L.Omita Devi, from Katahbari area of Guwahati in Kamrup (metro) District on January 27, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

The Independent faction of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA-I) executed its ‘cultural secretary’, Anjumoni Saikia alias Dalimi Dutta, at the outfit’s Myanmar camp recently, reports The Telegraph on January 28. Director-General of Police Khagen Sarma on January 28 said the Police have received unconfirmed reports of her death. Another top Police official said it was “believed that Dutta was executed by her comrades as she was planning to surrender” but added that there was no confirmation. The ULFA-I, led by Paresh Barua, has also not issued any statement about her death. Read less...

A mob later vandalised an office of the Pro-Talks faction of NDFB (NDFB-PTF) at Tezpur (Sonitpur District) and a cadre of the outfit was beaten up before he was handed over to the Police. The mob also shouted slogans against the NDFB, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

Referring to the January 28 ambush by the NDFB-IKS in the Thalola-Laodangi area under Dhekiajuli Police Station of Sonitpur District that left Additional Superintendent of Police (security) of Sonitpur District Gulzar Hussain dead and five other cops injured, the All Assam Police Association (AAPA) blamed the “soft attitude” of the state government towards militants for the incident, The Telegraph on January 29. “We demand immediate filling up of 12,000 posts lying vacant in the State Police Force, besides creation of 30,000 new posts,” the general secretary of the association, Taheruddin Ahmed, said. Read less...

Sonitpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP-Security), Gulzar Hussain (37), and a Police Informer were killed while five Constables were injured as IK Songbijit faction of National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB-IKS) ambushed a patrol at Thalola in the Batachipur area under Dhekiajuli Police Station in Sonitpur District on January 28, reports The Telegraph. The injured constables were identified as Umakanta Bailong (38), Rubul Borah (26), Hiraj Bharali (38), Janak Basumatary (25), and Pinku Nath (25). Meanwhile, ‘spokesman’ of the NDFB-IKS, B R Ferenga has claimed responsibility of the ambush, adds The Shillong Times. Read less...

The owner of a two-storey building, Raju Ali, in Sivasagar town (Sivasagar District) was injured when a crude bomb exploded, reports The Telegraph. Police claimed to have recovered five crude bombs in the area. The Police suspect the “crude bomb” went off while Ali was making it. In another room, explosive powder and other materials used to make the crude bomb were lying. According to Police, Ali was arrested earlier in connection with extorting money in the name of United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA). Read less...

The Sonitpur District unit of the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) took out a rally today in Tezpur against NDFB-IKS attack on Policemen in the District on January 28, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

Ten persons were killed and eight others received bullet injuries when encroachers from Arunachal Pradesh opened fire with hand-made weapons in the Behali Reserve Forest area of Sonitpur District on January 29, reports The Assam Tribune. Around 100 assailants, armed with guns and other lethal weapons, attacked the villagers, who have been camping there to protect those areas from further encroachment, and started indiscriminate firing at them killing those villagers on the spot. The Behali Reserve Forest was witnessing trouble for some time as frequent clashes took place in the area between encroachers from Arunachal Pradesh and Assam and though major eviction drives were launched by the administration in November and December 2013, the encroachers managed to settle there again. The report further said that encroachment of the reserved forests in different parts of Assam is giving an added advantage to the militant groups as there is very little presence of any Government machinery in such areas. The militants belonging to the IK Songbijit faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB-IKS) have taken advantage of it particularly in Sonitpur and Chirang Districts. Read less...

The All Assam Bhojpuri Parishad (AABP) on January 29 demanded adequate security for over two million Bhojpuri-speaking people living in the State besides formation of development council, reports The Telegraph. Read less...

The Assam Tribune quoted Sonitpur SP Sanjukta Parashar saying that the three NDFB-IKS militants involved in the ambush in Thalola-Laodangi have been identified as B Naihab, Chiju and Bishu and they are still hiding in Batachipur area. She added that a joint operation is going on to arrest the culprits. Read less...

Union Ministry of Home Affairs Joint-Secretary, Shambhu Singh, told television channels that the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) might have a hand in the killing incident in the Behali Reserve Forest area of Sonitpur District of Assam on January 29, The Telegraph reports on January 30. However, State Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi ruled out NDFB’s involvement and stated that miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh were responsible for the killings. As reported earlier, ten persons were killed and eight others received bullet injuries when encroachers from Arunachal Pradesh opened fire with hand-made weapons in the Behali Reserve Forest area of Sonitpur District on January 29. Read less...

Arunachal Pradesh is cut off from the rest of the country as protesters in Assam blocked supply routes to the state in protest against killings, reports Times of India on January 31. Krishak Mukti Sangram Samity (KMSS), which is leading the protest, blocked NH-52 at Borgang in Sonitpur District, which is the only lifeline to Arunachal capital Itanagar. Read less...

Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on January 30 intercepted an 'Army' convoy on Assam-Bengal border and recovered several guns with 'Made in USA' and 'Made in Germany' markings including an AK-47 along with over 9,000 kg of cannabis, reports The Times of India. Arms recovered included four improvised automatic pistols having mark 'Made in USA', one improvised AK-47, one automatic MP-5 submachine gun having mark 'Made in Germany' and two air guns. Ammunition recovered included 23 rounds of .65 caliber bullets, 90 rounds of .22 caliber bullets of make KF Germany and 39 rounds of 7.65 caliber bullets. DRI seized the contraband and also arrested nine smugglers. Read less...

The ULFA-I on January 31 confirmed the death of its ‘council secretary’ Dalimi Asom alias Anju Saikia, reports The Telegraph. In a statement emailed to the media by ULFA-I’s ‘assistant publicity secretary’ Arunoday Asom, the outfit claimed that Saikia had committed suicide. She had reportedly gone missing from an ULFA camp at an undisclosed place on January 5 and her body was recovered about 3 kilometers from the camp on January 19, the mailed statement stated. Read less...