On January 27, a total of 246 militants belonging to United Gorkha People’s Organisation (UGPO) and Tiwa Liberation Army (TLA) formally surrendered before Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in Guwahati of Kamrup Metropolitan District of Assam, reports East Mojo. Nearly 77 TLA and 169 UGPO militants surrendered and laid down arms including 277 types of arms, grenades and 720 rounds of ammunition in the ceremony. The TLA which was formed in 2014 with a demand for more autonomy for the Tiwa community was active in Morigaon, Nagaon and West Karbi Anglong districts. On the other hand, UGPO, formed in 2009 against the alleged harassment faced by the Gorkhas in the name of detection of foreigners was active in Kokrajhar, Chirang, Baksa and in Tinsukia districts since its in 2009.
Following the militants surrender, CM Sarma said, ‘With this, each and every tribal group has joined the mainstream. These were the last troops in the jungle. The era of tribal militancy is finally over in Assam’. Two more Bru-Reang outfits - Bru Revolutionary Army Union (BRAU) and United Democratic Liberation Front (UDLF) in the Barak Valley will be surrendering in the month of February 2022. CM Sarma further urged the only two remaining active militant outfits – United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) and Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO) to shun violence and come for peace parleys.
In the same surrender ceremony, 462 former militants of five different militant outfits (Rabha National Liberation Front (RNLF)-28, National Santhal Liberation Army (NSLA) -41, Adivasi Dragon Fighters (ADF)-61, National Liberation Front of Bengalis (NLFB) -303 and United Peoples’ Revolutionary Front (UPRF) -29 who had surrendered on January 23, 2020 were handed over financial grants of ₹1.5 lakh each by the CM Sarma for their rehabilitation.