GUWAHATI, Dec 26 ? The ULFA and the NDFB, jolted by the recent events in Bhutan, may carry out terrorist attacks in the state, particularly in the state capital, to make its presence felt. Security agencies operating in the state have been alerted to the possibility and security reviews are being carried out of the possible terrorist targets.
Security sources said here that the recent events in Bhutan may have left the banned ULFA and NDFB badly crippled but there are chances that the militants may carry out surprise attacks to avenge those killed and wounded in Bhutan. There is a possibility that the ULFA and the NDFB may team up to carry out the attacks. Oil and Railway installations have been identified as the most vulnerable targets.
According to the sources the two major militant outfits of the state are in a state of disarray with the death of hundreds of their cadres and the demolition of their camps delivering a mortal blow. The real face of the militant leaders have been exposed as they left the lower level cadres and their families to their fates while saving their own skin. ?They have left the lower level cadres to fend for themselves.? The youth of Assam, a section of which have so far been idolising the ULFA, have now seen the reality, they said.
?Without the guidance of the their leaders it is no wonder that the ordinary cadres have either been gunned down or have been captured,? the sources said. That is why the RBA, which has not seen action for over a century, could easily demolish the rebel camps. Its losses have been minimal. Most of the top ULFA and NDFB leaders are safely holed up in the Bangladesh, the sources said. The leaders that have been captured or killed in Bhutan were the ones who were unable to leave the Himalayan kingdom in time. The cadres, in mortal fear, left behind their defenceless wives and children. 64 such women and children were brought to Tamulpur Wednesday.
?When the ULFA is facing its biggest crisis ever, the so-called ?Commander-in-Chief? Paresh Barua is hiding in Bangladesh,? the sources accused. They said the top ULFA leadership are enjoying a comfortable life with the help of assets worth over $ 32 million. Several top leaders have moved from Bhutan to Bangladesh, including deputy C-I-C Raju Baruah, Chitraban Hazarika and Asanta Baghphukan. Hundreds of ULFA cadres, meanwhile, have been killed in Bhutan. Faced with the prospect of either being killed or starving to death in the jungles, several more have surrendered.
On why the ULFA has not been able to put up much resistance against the RBA, the sources said that the ULFA?s move some months ago to appoint Benning Rabha as in-charge of its camps in Bhutan by replacing Raju Barua, a known strategist, may have proved to be its undoing. ?Had Raju Barua been present, the ULFA could well have put up a stiffer resistance.
According to the sources, the Bhutan Government was initially not willing to risk an open confrontation with the ULFA or NDFB. But the fear that they may stoke the simmering fires of discontent among the Bhutanese nationals of Nepalese origin compelled it to take action. The ULFA, NDFB and KLO, it may be recalled, had decided to float the Bhutan Gorkha Liberation Front (BGLF) to take advantage of the situation. The fact that the militants have joined hands with the Maoists in Nepal was a cause of alarm for Bhutan as it was for India, the sources said.