GUWAHATI, June 23 – Even as Upper Assam continues to face the brunt of a sudden spurt in militant activity, there are signals that the ULFA might be preparing to step up the level of its activities in the Lower Assam districts as well. Indications are that the militant outfit is keen to make its presence in the western part of the State. Since the Bhutan operations last year, the outfit has been virtually inactive in Lower Assam, especially in districts like Barpeta and Nalbari that were once the hotbed of ULFA activity.
Sources here disclosed that instructions have been passed on by the ULFA leadership in Bangladesh that the cadres should make efforts to carry out subversive and offensive operations in Lower Assam to make the outfit’s presence felt there. Barpeta and Nalbari come under ULFA’s Paschim Mandal.
For years the Lower Assam districts have provided the ULFA with its major cadre base. Several top leaders of the outfit, both dead and alive, have also hailed from here. Over 200 militants have emerged from Nalbari district alone, including deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, Mithinga Daimari and Shasha Choudhury. But the kind of support that the militants once enjoyed has long evaporated. Recruitments from the area have fallen as a result. The militants are hoping that increased militant activity might attract a section of the youth to join the ultras.
The sources said that the ULFA is desperate to increase its manpower to make up for the huge losses that it suffered in the Bhutan operations last December. There has been little fresh recruitment in the militant ranks since then. With the outfit now planning to renew its offensive against the Government, it is looking to shore up its dwindling manpower resources. Increased extortion has given the militants the financial leverage to increase its cadre strength.
ULFA activity in Lower Assam has been minimal this year thanks to the upper hand that the security forces have gained in the area. The security forces have also foiled the few minor operations that the outfit launched here. According to the sources, the ULFA leaders have instructed the cadres to launch sustained subversive activities targeting mostly transport and communication links. But attacks on easy civilian targets like cinema halls also cannot be ruled out.