The Paresh Baruah faction of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom or ULFA (Independent) suffered a setback when one of its top leaders surrendered before troops of the paramilitary Assam Rifles on the Myanmar border on Sunday.
The self-styled ‘major general’ Arunodoi Dohutia alias Bijit Gogoi, one of the last extremists from the northeastern region to have been trained in Afghanistan and Pakistan by the Afghan Mujahideen and Inter Services Intelligence almost five decades ago, has been a close aide of ULFA(I) chief Paresh Baruah.
Officials said he and his PSO, Francis Axom, surrendered at Pangsau Pass in Arunachal Pradesh. The two are likely to be brought to Guwahati.
Confirming Dohutia’s surrender, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma dismissed the speculation that the extremist leader would be taken to New Delhi for the ongoing peace process.
“What I know is that they are not going to Delhi. They will stay in Tinsukia and may come to Guwahati to meet the Director General of Police. The Assam government has no plans to take them to Delhi,” the Chief Minister told journalists.
