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Bangladesh

Ulfa acted on its own

2011-08-09

[Bangla Daily Star] Top leaders of United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) slipped to Bangladesh after their lives came under threat in the northeastern Indian state of Assam, Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman of the separatist group, told an Indian English daily. "When lives are in danger, it is natural recourse to seek refuge.... No government invited us, we went on our own and established bases," Rajkhowa said when asked why he sought refuge in Bangladesh. It really improves housing values when thoughtful, considerate terrorists squat in the house next door... The Ulfa used Bangladesh as a corridor to smuggle firearms into Assam, the 57-year-old separatist leader said in an interview with the Hindustan Times on August 5. For the first time, Rajkhowa admitted that Pak fundamentalists had long been backing them. Quelle surprise! However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... Ulfa Vice-Chairman Pradip Gogoi yesterday denied the media reports about Ulfa being backed by Pak fundamentalists, reports our correspondent from New Delhi. "These reports are false. Our chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa did not say any such thing. "It was just a robot that looked and sounded exactly like him. Our Pakistani masters will prove it was a clever Hinjoo plot involving the Mossad, RAW and the CIA, just you wait." The question of being influenced by fundamentalists does not arise," said the Ulfa second-in-command. Rajkhowa told the Hindustan Times that sophisticated weapons were being brought in ships to Bangladesh and then transported inland in trucks. "One big consignment was caught in Chittagong, many ships were captured and in one case an entire shipload of arms was dumped into the sea to evade seizure. But many made it through," Rajkhowa said. "Ironically, the seized weapons are being used by the elite Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh (Rab) now, the same force that nabbed me." Sometimes there is justice in the world. According to Indian newspapers, Rab captured the Ulfa chief in Bangladesh on November 30, 2009. He was later handed over to Indian security agencies. In 1979, Rajkhowa and his associates formed the Ulfa at Rang Ghar in Sivasagar, to start an armed rebellion for Assam's independence. Since then, the conflict has claimed more than 12,000 lives. And not achieved independence. Perhaps the next generation should seek a different path. .

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India-Pakistan

Ulfa declares ceasefire

2011-07-13

[Bangla Daily Star] One of India's oldest rebel groups announced a unilateral ceasefire yesterday to push forward formal peace talks aimed at ending three decades of insurgency in the northeast state of Assam. The United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), the largest separatist outfit in the region, has been fighting for an independent homeland for ethnic Assamese since 1979. The insurgency has claimed an estimated 10,000 lives. "The Ulfa, with a view to exploring a lasting peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflict, resolves to cease all forms of armed campaign for an indefinite period," Ulfa chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa said in an e-mailed statement received by AFP. Rajkhowa and several other top Ulfa leaders had been released from prison on bail in December 2010, after which they held several rounds of informal peace talks with New Delhi's chief negotiator PC Haldar. They also held a courtesy meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Home Minister PC Chidambaram earlier this year. The only hold-out to the peace talks is the Ulfa's commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be hiding with around 100 armed cadres somewhere along the Myanmar-China border. Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi welcomed the ceasefire declaration, and appealed to Baruah to join the grinding of the peace processor. "But we cannot wait indefinitely for him to come in, and if his faction tries to create some problems then action will be taken against them," Gogoi said.

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India-Pakistan

Ulfa softens on independence

2011-01-04

[Bangla Daily Star] A top Death Eater group fighting Indian forces in the country's remote northeast for almost three decades has dropped its demand for independence in talks with New Delhi, softening its stand in an insurgency that has killed thousands of people. The United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) is one of the deadliest separatist groups in the northeast, and progress in resolving the insurgency, which has been a drain on resources, would boost New Delhi in a region rich in oil and tea. Arabinda Rajkhowa, also known as Rajib Rajkonwar, chairman of Ulfa, said on Sunday his group was for the first time willing to talk to the Indian government without condition.

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India-Pakistan

Freed ULFA leader invites peace dialogue

2011-01-02

[Dawn] A separatist leader released on bail Saturday said he was committed to peace talks with the Indian government to end his group's 30-year insurgency in the northeastern state of Assam. Arabinda Rajkhowa was greeted by hundreds of supporters as he left the prison in the state capital of Gauhati, where he had been held since December 2009 on sedition charges. The state said it approved Rajkhowa's bail of 600,000 rupees in hopes that the 54-year-old rebel leader would call his group's leaders, many of whom are in hiding, to begin peace talks with the government. Rajkhowa thanked the Indian government for taking the initiative in launching a grinding of the peace processor and called for the release of other rebel leaders in detention, including the group's general secretary, Anup Chetia, being held in Bangladesh. ''It is the mood for peace among the people of Assam that has brought us to this situation today, where we are set to begin a peace dialogue with the Indian government,'' Rajkhowa told his supporters before leaving in a 30-car motorcade for his home village of Lakwa, 825 miles east of Gauhati. More than 10,000 people have died since Rajkhowa's United Liberation Front of Asom began fighting in 1979 for an independent homeland to be carved out of India's remote northeast. The separatists accuse the Indian government of exploiting Assam's natural resources while doing little for the indigenous people, most of whom are ethnically closer to the people of Myanmar and China than to other Indians.

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Bangladesh

Four cases filed against arrested ULFA leader in Bangladesh

2010-07-19

Four cases have been filed against the arrested leader of the Indian separatist group, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), Ranjan Chowdhury and his associate Prodip Marak at Bhairab Police Station in Kishoreganj district. Deputy assistant director of Bhairab camp of elite security force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Karim Ullah filed the cases under the weapons, explosives, illegal immigration and anti-terrorism acts on Saturday night. Bhairab police sub-inspector Delwar Hossain confirmed filing of the cases on Sunday. Ranjan and his associate were presented to Kishoreganj Judicial Court on Sunday. Earlier on Saturday, the RAB arrested Ranjan and his assistant Prodip Marak from Lakkhmipur area of the sub-district. The RAB recovered a foreign-made pistol, a revolver, four rounds of ammunitions and four hand grenades from their possession. Ranjan Chowdhury is referred to as Major Ranjan as he specialises in military training and has been working for ULFA since 1990, commander Mohammad Sohael Ahmed, RAB legal and media wing's director, said in a press conference at their headquarters in Dhaka. "Ranjan received special training to use firearms and grenades. He escaped to Bangladesh in 1995 after serving a year in prison at India. However, he maintained constant contact with ULFA leaders in Bhutan and Nepal including its military wing chief Paresh Barua." Last December, Indian authorities arrested ULFA chief Arabinda Rajkhowa along with a number of members of the separatist group including his personal bodyguard Raja Bora, the deputy commander-in-chief of the ULFA's military wing Raju Barua. Despite various media reports claiming that the ULFA chief was arrested by Bangladesh and handed over to his home country, authorities in both the countries declined to comment on the matter. However, it was proved that Rajkhowa has long been staying in Bangladesh under the alias of Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury and even had a Bangladeshi passport identifying him to be a citizen of the country by birth. ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia is currently in a Bangladeshi prison.

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Bangladesh

Ulfa leader captured

2010-07-18

[Bangla Daily Star] Rapid Action Battalion (Rab-9) early yesterday arrested a leader of Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) and his Bangladeshi aide from Bhairab in Kishoreganj. The arrestees are Ranjan Chowdhury alias Major Ranjan, 46, former general secretary of Dhubri district unit Ulfa, and his Bangladeshi aide Pradip Marak, 57, of Bakura village in Jhinaigati upazila. The law enforcers also recovered one pistol, one revolver, four handmade bombs and bomb making materials from Ranjan's hideout at Lakshmipur village in Bhairab. Rab sources said on information, they conducted a raid in Lakshmipur village around 4:30am and arrested the two with the arms and explosives. In preliminary interrogation the arrestees admitted their involvement with Ulfa, the sources added. The arrestees were brought to the Rab headquarters in Dhaka yesterday for a media briefing and sent back to Bhairab in the afternoon. The Rab sources said they would soon produce Ranjan and Pradip before a Kishoreganj court with remand prayers. Rab Chief Hasan Mahmud Khandaker said, "We are trying to find out whether Ulfa has any link with local militant outfits or has any military wing here. We are also trying to ascertain how many Ulfa leaders and operatives are living here." Chief of Rab Intelligence Wing Lt Col Ziaul Ahsan said, "Ulfa activities in India are apparently regulated by its leaders and operatives who have taken shelter in Bangladesh. Among them, Ranjan is now the chief as the other top leaders of the separatist group are in jails." Ziaul Ahsan said in the preliminary interrogation Ranjan informed about his training in firearms and explosives. Rab is also trying to find out the organisation's arsenal in the country, he added. Commander Mohammad Sohail, director of Rab legal and media wing, said Ranjan married a Bangladeshi and started living at Gazni village of Jhinaigati upazila in Sherpur since 1997. He has been making frequent trips to India on organisational purposes. Ranjan illegally entered into the country through Kurigram district in September 1997 to meet Ulfa military wing chief Paresh Barua in Dhaka, said commander Sohail. Rab sources said Ulfa operatives under Ranjan's leadership are active in Sherpur, Kurigram and Sylhet, the bordering districts of Assam. In 1995, Indian law enforcers arrested Ranjan on his way back to India from Bhutan after his meeting with Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia, who has been convicted in several cases and now in jail in Bangladesh since 1997. Last December, Assam police arrested Ulfa chief Arabinda Rajkhowa Raju Barua and eight others of the group although some foreign media reported that Arabinda and the others were handed over to Indian Border Security Force by Bangladesh at Dawki in Meghalaya. The Bangladesh and Indian governments dismissed the media claim.

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Bangladesh

ULFA commander Paresh Barua arrested, or not

2010-05-21

It's B'desh so no one knows a thing ... Paresh Barua, commander-in-chief of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), has been arrested by th e Bangladesh authorities, reports expressbuzz.com of India, reports UNB. The dreaded ULFA leader was apprehended by the Bangladesh security agencies about 12 days ago when he was crossing over to Bangladesh via Myan-mar border after visiting Chinese Yunnan province. Home Secretary Abdus Sobhan Sikder pleaded ignorance about the arrest of Paresh Barua. "I''m not aware of it," he told UNB this evening. Bangladesh officials had been shy of confirming the arrest and handing over to India the ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and three of his comrades early this year, and National Democratic Front of Bodoland chairman Ranjan Daimary couple of months ago. "We are expecting Bangladesh to hand him over to us soon once they finish interrogating him," sources told Express. An IANS report from Guwahati, Assam, said Indian Home Secretary G K Pillai pleaded ignorance about the arrest of ULFA Commander. "We have no such reports," he said in response to an SMS about the Express report. Television channels in Assam and some newspapers on Thursday reported that ULFA's elusive commander-in-chief was arrested in Bangladesh about a fortnight ago upon his return from China. "At a time when Bangladesh is stepping up its heat on ULFA and NDFB, a seasoned separatist leader like Paresh Barua would never enter Bangladesh and get himself captured," a central intelligence official said. "It is nothing but a rumour."

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Bangladesh

Unsigned statement of northeast Indian groups

2009-12-10

[Bangla Daily Star] The Daily Star last night received an unsigned statement claimed to have been issued by a few organisations, which are carrying out insurgency in the Northeastern states of India. In the statement they expressed being hurt by the arrest of Ulfa Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and other leaders of the organisation. In the statement, the claimed organisations, namely Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), National Liberation Front of Twipra (NLFT), Tripura People's Democratic Front (TPDF) and United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), have concluded that Rajkhowa was arrested in Bangladesh and as such they are hurt and disappointed. However, Bangladesh Home Minister Sahara Khatun earlier personally denied the Ulfa chairman's arrest in Bangladesh. "No, no! Certainly not!" It may be mentioned that the statement received through e-mail does not bear either the letterhead of any organisation or signature of anyone from the organisations. Claiming themselves as "liberation forces", the organisations said they would emphasis that they should not commit any such act that may be construed as open infringement upon the sovereignty of their neighbouring countries and hurt sentiments of the people concerned.

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India-Pakistan

Ulfa chief remanded

2009-12-06

[Bangla Daily Star] Top leader of United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa was taken on 12 days' remand for interrogation yesterday even as his elusive colleague Paresh Baruah said he was ready for dialogues with Indian government if "sovereignty" for Assam was on the agenda. A court in Guwahati, Assam, sent Rajkhowa, his bodyguard Raja Bora and deputy Raju Baruah on 12 days' police remand, a day after they "surrendered" to Indian authorities in Meghalaya. The three were produced before Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan. The Assam police had asked for a 14-day custody while the lawyer of the Ulfa leaders prayed for 10 days. The Ulfa leaders were booked under the Unlawful Activities Act. Huge crowds gathered before the magistrate's court to get a glimpse of Rajkhowa, Raju Baruah and Raja Bora. Rajkhowa in handcuffs and Baruah claimed that they had not surrendered, that they would never do it, as they were taken back to the police van by personnel of the Special Operations Unit of Assam police. Rajkhowa, who had been on the run from law for 17 years, accused Bangladesh of "betraying" him. He said talks with India cannot be held with his being in handcuffs. Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be in Myanmar and asked Rajkhowa on Friday not to "fall into the government's trap" of dialogue, yesterday denied there was any split in Ulfa which has "full confidence" in Rajkhowa. "We are ready for dialogue provided sovereignty for Assam is discussed," he said in an email to the media from an undisclosed location. But Indian Home Minister P Chidambaram has ruled out talks with Ulfa unless it abjures violence and gives up the sovereignty demand. Paresh Baruah said Rajkhowa had not surrendered but been arrested "following a deep-rooted conspiracy of the Indian government". Extreme secrecy surrounds the place where Rajkhowa, Raju Baruah besides eight others were being held by the Assam police. Rajkhowa, along with his wife and nine others, had arrived in Guwahati yesterday after they were handed over to the BSF reportedly by Bangladesh security forces at Dawki in Meghalaya. Meanwhile, Ulfa General Secretary Anup Chetia was shifted to Rajshahi Central Jail from Mymensingh jail on Friday night, reports our correspondent in Rajshahi. Sources said another leader of the United Liberation Front of Asom, Babul Sharma, was taken to Rangpur jail at the same time. Acting Deputy Inspector General of prisons Tipu Sultan confirmed the reports of shifting, but he did not elaborate on the matter. Security of Rajshahi jail was tightened after Anup Chetia was taken there. Anup was arrested in 1997 in Dhaka. He was convicted in several cases and has since been in jail. In the last few days, foreign media reported that Ulfa Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and a few other leaders were arrested in Dhaka and later handed over to the Indian authorities. But on Friday, Bangladesh government dismissed such claims. Terming the media reports baseless, Home Minister Sahara Khatun said, "Since we did not arrest him [Rajkhowa], there is no question of pushing him back." The same day the Indian authorities formally announced that the Ulfa chairman surrendered to the Indian Border Security Force earlier in the day at Dawki in the northeastern state of Meghalaya.

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India-Pakistan

Top Indian rebel arrested

2009-12-04

The commander of a powerful rebel movement in India's remote northeast was arrested along with a top deputy, officials said Friday, in a major blow to a separatist army already crippled by a string of arrests. Indian officials said publicly that Arabinda Rajkhowa surrendered Friday. But security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the chairman of the United Liberation Front of Asom, or ULFA, was actually arrested days earlier in Bangladesh, where he had long been thought to be hiding. The exact date was unclear.

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Bangladesh

Arrested Ulfa chief taken to Delhi

2009-12-04

[Bangla Daily Star] Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has been taken to Delhi from Tripura where he surrendered to the security forces, report BBC News and Indian media. Rajkhowa's wife Kaberi Kachari and their two sons were put under house arrest in Dhaka, the media reports add. Indian daily the Hindustan Times reports that the Ulfa chief was pushed back on Wednesday by the Bangladesh authorities into Tripura and later flown to New Delhi yesterday evening. Two other top Ulfa leaders -- Chitrabon Hazarika and Sasha Choudhury -- were detained in Bangladesh last month and subsequently handed over to India, while Ulfa general secretary Anup Chetia is confined in Bangladesh jail since 1998. BBC News Online adds: There are unconfirmed reports that the two other rebel leaders -- chairman of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) Ranjan Daimary and chairman of the National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) Biswamohan Debbarma -- have also been held elsewhere in Bangladesh. India's home ministry has not confirmed the reports of the arrests in Bangladesh. Quoting Indian government sources, the CNN-IBN website says the Centre is considering giving safe passage to Rajkhowa to facilitate the peace talks. It adds Ulfa chairman Rajkhowa and its publicity secretary Apurba Borua were flown into New Delhi in a special flight of the Border Security Force, while Rajkhowa's wife and two sons have also been reportedly kept under house arrest in Uttara in Dhaka. Forty-two bank accounts held by Rajkhowa in a Dhaka bank were frozen in March. The accounts held deposits worth Rs 3,900 crore, most of which was extortion money. Sources say Rajkhowa held the accounts under the name of Arbinda Ray and the accounts were frozen two months after Sheikh Hasina came to power in Bangladesh. Hasina government is also putting pressure on him for talks with India.

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Bangladesh

Ulfa founder held in Dhaka

2009-12-03

[Bangla Daily Star] Arabinda Rajkhowa, chairman and one of the founders of Indian separatist group United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), was arrested in Dhaka on Monday, reports BBC Bangla Service. Quoting Indian intelligence agencies, the BBC Kolkata correspondent reports that the Ulfa chief along with three to four other leaders was arrested in Gulshan in the capital. Contacted, the high-ups of Bangladesh Police, Rapid Action Battalion (Rab), Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Detective Branch (DB) and Special Branch (SB) denied such arrest. A report of Indian state-run news agency PTI says: Home Secretary G K Pillai and his Bangladesh counterpart Abdus Sobhan Sikder, who is currently in India, pleaded ignorance about the detention of Rajkhowa. "Because I am away from the country, I do not have such information till now," Sikder told reporters when asked about the development. Pillai said, "We also have no official information of arrest of Arabinda Rajkhowa in Bangladesh or anywhere else". Meanwhile, Indian English dailies the Hindustan Times and the Economic Times report that Ulfa chairman Rajkhowa, its publicity secretary Apurba Baruah and another separatist group National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT) chairman Biswamohan Debbarma were also arrested in Bangladesh. Quoting home ministry sources, the Indian media reports say efforts are on to get 53-year-old Ulfa Chairman Rajkhowa deported to India, writes our correspondent in Delhi. According to reports published in the Hindustan Times and the Economic Times, the Ulfa and NLFT leaders were believed to have been arrested by the Special Branch of the Bangladesh police and are likely to be handed over to the Indian authorities along the Indo-Bangla border either in Tripura or in Assam soon. The Ulfa chairman has reportedly been in favour of talks with the central government of India. Talking to The Daily Star, Additional Inspector General of Police NBK Tripura, Rab Director General Hassan Mahmood Khandker, DMP Commissioner AKM Shahidul Hoque, Special Superintendent Meer Shahidul Islam of CID and SS Mahbubur Rahman of SB said they have no information regarding the arrest of any Ulfa or NLFT leaders. Senior Ulfa leader Anup Chetia has been confined in Bangladesh jail since 1998. According to PTI, with Rajkhowa's detention, Ulfa is now left with only two top leaders, commander-in-chief Paresh Barua and his deputy Raju Barua, who are yet to be arrested. It is believed that Paresh Barua now shuttles among China, Thailand and Malaysia. Rajkhowa is among five people who founded the separatist group on April 7, 1979. Accused in several cases, including that of waging war against India, Rajkhowa has an Interpol Red Corner notice against him. He has been out of India since 1992 and is said to have lived in places like Myanmar, Thailand, Bhutan apart from Bangladesh, added PTI.

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