GUWAHATI, Dec 2: Even as the ULFA has found for itself a new foothold to inch its way back to the popularity charts by targeting the Bihari community in the State, there is increasing evidence that it is forging close links with the Nepalese Maoist rebels and setting up bases in the Himalayan kingdom. Security sources said here that the ULFA and the Maoists have recently agreed to have the Assam rebel outfit operate three new bases in Nepal. In fact, there are also reports that the ULFA have been already operating a few camps there since much earlier. The two rebel groups have also agreed to share training facilities, the sources said.
The sources said that the ULFA is becoming increasingly jittery in Bhutan. This is because of the strong possibility of the Royal Bhutanese Army (RBA) launching an operation against the Indian militant outfits holed up in the jungles of the Himalayan kingdom. The Indian Government is mounting pressure on Bhutan to do something fast to rein in the militants. According to the sources, a few months ago the chief of the ?foreign affairs? cell of the Maoists met with ULFA supremo Paresh Baruah and the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) spokesman Sunil Biswas near Atari Market in Nepal?s Panchthar district. The Maoists reportedly agreed to allow the ULFA to set up three more camps in eastern Nepal in addition to the six camps that the militant outfit already has in that country. The outfit reportedly has decided to quit Bhutan for good.
The Nepal camps may prove to be a much sought after haven for the ULFA which has been struggling to run its camps in Bhutan thanks to the strategy of the Indian security forces to cut off supply routes from the plains of Assam to the Bhutanese hills where the militants are sheltered. Outfits like the ULFA and the NDFB have been hard pressed to secure supplies of even the most basic of commodities like foodgrains and medicine. Several ULFA and NDFB cadres have deserted the Bhutan camps in recent months unable to endure the harsh living conditions there.
The sources said that in return for the ULFA operating its camps in Nepal, the Assam outfit has agreed to train the Maoist cadres. Hundreds of new Maoist recruits were reportedly imparted military training by ULFA instructors recently. The sources added that with the Nepalese Army also close on the heels of the rebels, the Maoists may be trying to reach out to the Assam rebels for material support as well as for offering them a safe haven should it be necessary.
What is posing a major worry for the security planners is the dangerous possibility of Maoist influence taking root in parts of Assam where the Nepalese people have a good presence. The sources pointed out that the Nepalese settled in Assam maintain strong linkages with friends and relatives back in Nepal. They also frequently travel to that country. In such a situation the chances of Maoist rebels sneaking in cannot be ruled out, they added.