GUWAHATI, June 8? The banned ULFA is in a state of disarray following serious, and violent, differences among its top leadership, security sources said. The state of affairs is such that large sections of its lower-level cadres are contemplating surrender. According to the sources, the widespread sense of desolation among the ULFA ranks stems largely from the battle of supremacy between the top ULFA leadership, particularly the outfit?s ?commander-in-chief? Paresh Barua and his deputy Raju Barua. While Paresh Barua is in Bangladesh enjoying the hospitality of Bangladeshi and Pakistani intelligence agencies and running some flourishing businesses, Raju Barua is ensconced in Bhutan, overseeing operations in the outfit?s nine camps in the Himalayan country.
Matters have gone to a head with many believing that the recent attack on Paresh Barua in Dhaka on May 27 evening, in the Uttara locality where he was to meet Col Salam Choudhury, his ?handler and protector? in the Directorate General of Forces Intelligence (DGFI), the Bangladeshi equivalent of the Indian RAW, was carried out at the instance of Raju Barua. Paresh Barua escaped unhurt.
This incident follows another mysterious attack on Paresh Barua?s ancestral home. Gunmen fired at the ancestral house at Jeraigaon, near Chabua in Dibrugarh district on the night of May 5. None were hurt though his mother Miliki Barua lives there along with elder brother Bimal (40) who is an MES employee at Chabua. His younger brother Dinesh was shot dead in 1994 by unidentified gunmen. The sources said that over the past several months, there has been virtually no communication between the two leaders in Bhutan and Bangladesh, with Raju Barua virtually handling the Bhutan operations single-handed, although chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa is also believed to be holed up in one of the militant camps there. This, at a time when Paresh Barua has been entrusted with more powers to run the organisation by amending the constitution, which has angered the senior leaders, including Raju Barua.
The rift among the top leadership, the sources said, is not only confined among these two, but extends to the others too. This has led to top leaders to even stop visiting the general headquarters of the ULFA. The outfit has not been able to hold its general council meeting for the last two years due to the rift. The disagreement among the top leadership is the result of several factors.
According to reports, the most important cause is the difference of opinion among the leaders on operational matters. Leaders like Raju Barua believe that they should be given a free hand to decide on such matters. Financial aspects of the outfit has also become a key issue with differences cropping up over how the ?spoils? should be split. The ULFA has amassed crores through extortion from businesses in Assam and even Kolkata (with interests in this state). Most of the funds, the sources said, are being transferred to Bangladesh, ostensibly to pay for the ULFA?s supplies of arms and other provisions.
Camps in Bhutan, on the other hand, are in a really poor state with food and medicine at a premium. Malaria and cholera are ruling the roost there. Cadres are dissatisfied. Many among them have seen for themselves how the ULFA?s goals are mere hogwash, with the real intention now being to amass riches. The open conflict among the top leadership has disillusioned them even more. According to the sources, lower level cadres of the outfit are waiting for an opportunity to abandon militancy. Large numbers are believed to have made up their mind to come overground. Recent surrenders point towards that, the sources added.