GUWAHATI, Dec 17 ? The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) today received a major set back during the ongoing offensive by the Royal Bhutan Army personnel as the publicity secretary of the outfit Mithinga Daimari, along with several other cadres of the outfit have been nabbed. Highly placed security sources confirmed the arrest of the ULFA publicity secretary during the Bhutan Army operation against the ULFA militants holed up in the territory of the Himalayan Kingdom. Sources said that the Bhutan Government has also claimed the arrest of a senior leader of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB). Police sources said here that it is not certain when the ULFA publicity secretary would be brought to Assam. Sources said, ?we have also heard that the NDFB publicity secretary B Erakdao has been nabbed in Bhutan but we have not been able to confirm the news so far. But it is sure that a few top men of the militant outfits have been nabbed during the operations in Bhutan.? The Bhutan Army has already busted the Central headquarter of the ULFA.
It may be mentioned here that Mithinga alias Dipak Das, who hails from Barama area of Nalbari district, was an active member of the political wing of the ULFA. But he maintained a very low profile for quite some time after the killing of several of his family members by unidentified gunmen. Sources revealed that several top militants of the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) including an action squad commander was also nabbed during the ongoing operations, which was launched on the night of December 14.
Meanwhile, security sources revealed that the ULFA and the NDFB set up bases in Bhutan in 1991 after the Army operations Bajrang and Rhino were launched in Assam. The ULFA General headquarter and Central headquarters were moved to Bhutan after a crackdown by the Bangladesh Government in 1995.
Sources said that after receiving warnings from the Bhutan Government, the ULFA started shifting some of its men to Bangladesh and most of the top leaders of the outfit have already shifted to Bangladesh. It may be mentioned here that the Border Security Force (BSF) has submitted a list of the ultra camps in Bangladesh and asked the Bangla Government to take action against them. According to the list, the ULFA has 27 camps in Bangladesh, while, the NDFB has 14 camps.
Sources also said that several militant outfits operating in the North Eastern region including the ULFA and NSCN (K) also have camps in Myanmar taking advantage of the virtually unguarded international boundary and the 28 battalion of the ULFA is also based in Myanmar from where the ULFA launches its operations in the Upper Assam districts.
Battered by the Royal Bhutan Army action and on the run since, ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa has appealed to Bhutan monarch Jigme Singye Wanchuk to call off the military operations against North-East insurgent outfits. He called for a respite as historical ties bonded the Bhutanese and the North-East people since time immemorial. The ULFA chief appealed for cessation for all actions impending the struggle for legitimacy, brotherhood and the course of historical events. ? Staff Reporter