But, after having narrowly escaped being killed in the past 12 months, the ULFA finally gunned him down in cold blood on Saturday evening. Reports from Nalabari said a group of armed ULFA cadres, numbering about 20, knocked at his house at Thamna Bazar, called him out, and opened fire on him. Rabha died on the spot.

In December last year, Rabha had first organised the people living in the rural areas of the northern region of Nalbari district bordering Bhutan, and had brought out a huge bicycle procession to protest a mass extortion notice served by the armed rebel group. Rabha himself headed this procession of bicyclists, consisting of about 15,000 people, with villagers ofadjacent areas too following his strategy.

In fact, Rabha's death has dampened the spirits of the entire district, but district Superintendent of Police Apurba Jiwan Barua said the people have taken this incident as a challenge, and have vowed to carry forward the resistance movement.

``I was with the people of Thamna Bazar for several hours on Sunday, and they have vowed to avenge the killing of Rabha by making the resistance movement stronger'' Barua, talking to The Indian Express from Nalbari, said.

In fact, Barua too was attacked by the ULFA when he was returning from Thamna Bazar on Sunday, and he had a narrow escape. ``I would have have shot down four boys who fired upon my vehicle, but for the presence of several farmers who were harvesting paddy, through whom the culprits escaped,'' the Nalbari SP said.

He recalled how, under Umesh Rabha's leadership, the people of north Nalbari had refused to pay ``taxes'' to ULFA and Bodo rebels, and in one incident, the people even burnt down a house byconfining a rebel inside it a few months ago.

In June this year, the people had even issued a reverse warning to the ULFA, demanding an apology from them for making an attempt on Rabha's life. The ULFA complied with their wishes. ``But that turned out to be a false apology, and they were looking for an opportunity to target him, which they finally did, successfully,'' SP Barua remarked.

Under Rabha's leadership the people of Thamna Bazar had taken up night duty to guard the village from entry of unwanted elements, and on several occasions, they did successfully chase away armed youths by blowing of horns and beating of drums.

Rabha's policy of creating awareness by beating drums and blowing pipes, interestingly has spread to the entire countryside in the ULFA, infested district.

It was only on August 15 this year that the district administration of Nalbari had felicitated Rabha and his core group which constitute the Santrash-Virodhi Gana-Manch for the people's movement which they have built up.

``Ido not think that Rabha's murder will bring down the people's morale. Instead it is going to only make them bolder,'' the superintendent of police, Nalbari added.