Attempt to form a new insurgent group foiled in Bodoland region: Assam police

Guwahati: Assam police on Tuesday said an effort to form a new insurgent group in Bodoland region was foiled when they detained 20 people and seized sophisticated weapons during an operation. 

The weapons included six automatic rifles, four single shot rifles, pistols, hand grenades, and 54 rounds ammunition of AK series rifles. The weapons were seized from a forest situated along Kokrajhar-Chirang district. The held were trying to form a new militant group since the last 3-4 months and revive insurgency in the Bodoland region, director general of police G P Singh said. 

This comes days after police seized five China-made hand grenades and five other hand-made grenades from a village in Sonitpur district in North Assam that shares a border with Bodoland region. Eleven hand made rifles were also seized earlier.

Violent past

The Bodoland region, comprising four districts - Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and Udalguri remained disturbed for decades due to violence carried out by insurgent groups National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT). The insurgency, however, ended in December 2020 when all four factions of NDFB signed an agreement with the government and gave up their weapons. The NDFB was disbanded in a similar way as the BLT was dissolved in 2003.

A special package was announced by the Centre for development of the Bodoland Territorial Region. Some former insurgents are now part of the Bodoland Territorial Council, an autonomous council set up for welfare of the region.

But security forces recovered many sophisticated weapons hidden inside jungles and forests. Officials said a section of disgruntled young people were still trying to form new insurgent groups in order to derail the peace process. "We will continue our drive to recover all the illegal weapons and deny any attempt to disturb peace and the new path of development," Singh said.