GUWAHATI: The Paresh Baruah faction of the banned insurgent group United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) suffered a setback on Sunday when one of its top leaders, Arunodoi Dohutia, also known as Arunodoi Asom, surrendered before security forces.
Dohutia gave up arms along with his personal security officer, Francis Asom, near Pangsau Pass on the India–Myanmar border in Arunachal Pradesh. The two are likely to be brought to Guwahati.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma confirmed the surrender of the ULFA leader but dismissed the speculation that he (Dohutia) would be taken to New Delhi in connection with peace talks.
“What I know is that they are not going to Delhi. They will stay in Tinsukia and may come to Guwahati to meet the DGP. The Assam government has no plans to take them to Delhi,” Sarma told the media.
He categorically said that any discussion with the ULFA would be held with Baruah, stating that there is no point in talking to others. He further said that Baruah was unwilling to engage in talks in the manner the government wanted.
Dohutia, a self-styled “major general” who earlier served as the spokesperson of the ULFA, has been a trusted lieutenant of Baruah. His surrender is being seen as a major blow to the insurgent group. It has not yet reacted to the desertion.
The development came amid stepped-up operations by the security forces against militants in eastern Arunachal and Tinsukia district. The ULFA had attacked an Army camp in Tinsukia last month, injuring three personnel.
For the past two to three years, the Assam government has been actively working to bring the ULFA to the negotiating table. However, Baruah has all along held his ground on the issue of Assam’s sovereignty, insisting that this should be on the agenda of any peace negotiations with the outfit.