Rajkhowa handed over to Indian authorities in Meghalaya

ULFA leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa and Raju Barua surrendered to the Indian authorities early on Friday morning raising hopes of a dialogue for peace in Assam.

ULFA’s top leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa and Raju Barua surrendered to the Indian authorities early on Friday morning raising hopes of a dialogue for peace in Assam but differences erupted in the banned militant outfit.

Two days after he was reportedly detained in Bangladesh,ULFA Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa (53),and Deputy Chief of its military operations Raju Barua (43) were taken into custody by the Border Security Force after they were “seen” near Dawki outpost on the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.

They were spotted around 1.15 am and when “challenged” by the BSF they offered to surrender,BSF Inspector General Prithviraj said.

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In New Delhi,Home Secretary G K Pillai said the ULFA leaders will have to face judicial process for cases pending against them while it is understood that heinous charges may not be pressed against them.

The arrival of ULFA leadership in India raised hopes of initiation of a peace talks with the outlawed group whose leadership had taken shelter in Bangladesh and directed violence mostly in Assam from there for the last 30 years.

However,reflecting the differences in top ULFA leadership the elusive commander-in-chief Paresh Barua asked Rajkhowa not to fall into the “trap” of Indian government by holding a peace dialogue.

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