ULFA (I) militant nabbed in Assam's Dibrugarh district

Guwahati: Army personnel and Dibrugarh Police on Thursday successfully apprehended a cadre of the proscribed United Liberation Front of Axom (ULFA), independent.

The ULFA (I) insurgent has been identified as a certain Babul Gogoi, and is a resident of the Nachani Gaon in Tingkhong of Dibrugarh district. "This operation is part of the ongoing crackdown against various militant outfits in the area of Upper Assam", officials said.

ULFA talks on hold:

United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was formed on April 7, 1979, by Bhimakanta Buragohain, Rajiv Rajkonwar alias Arabinda Rajkhowa, Golap Baruah alias Anup Chetia, Samiran Gogoi alias Pradip Gogoi, Bhadreshwar Gohain and Paresh Baruah at the Rang Ghar in Sibsagar to establish a "sovereign socialist Assam" through an armed struggle.

Although the Government has appealed the ULFA's military wing to join talks in the aftermath of the signing of the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) treaty with Bodo insurgents, the talks are on hold at the moment. With the pressing issue of the Covid-19 on hand, nations have chosen to seal international borders, and thus, it is unlikely that the talks will come to a conclusion in the near future.

Meanwhile, AB Mathur, a 1975-batch IPS officer designated as interlocutor, remains confident of inking a decisive pact with the separatist body. While participating in a book release event held in India International Centre (IIC) in New Delhi, peace interlocutor AB Mathur said that centre's discussions with the pro-talks faction of ULFA were in its "last stage."

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