Militants numbering 644 from eight militant groups surrendered and laid down 177 arms, responding to a government’s peace initiative which will ensure their rehabilitation under government schemes, reports The Telegraph. The surrender ceremony was conducted in Guwahati in Kamrup Metropolitan District of Assam. The surrendered militants belong to United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Saoraigwra (NDFB-S). Kamtapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), Rabha National Liberation Front (RNLF), CPI (Maoist), National Santhal Liberation Army (NSLA), Adivasi Dragon Force (ADF) and the National Liberation Front of Bengalis (NLFB). Of the surrendered militants, 301 belonged to NLFB, 178 ADF, 87 NSLA, 50 Ulfa (I), 13 RNLF, eight NDFB, six KLO and one CPI (Maoist) cadres. To rehabilitate and provide a dignified livelihood to surrendered militants, Assam police had launched the Swabalamban schemes in 2017 to impart vocational training and entrepreneurship skills to them.
An individual who has been missing from Jerai Gaon in Dibrugarh District of Assam is suspected to have joined United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), reports East Mojo. The individual was identified as TapubanGohain. The development comes on the backdrop of police confirmation of GyandeepBorpatroGohain, hailing from Chabua in the same District who disappeared on January 4 this year, having joined ULFA-I. Dibrugarh additional superintendent police Padmanabh Baruah said, "The officer-in-charge of ChabuaPolice station learnt from his sources that a youth has gone missing from Jeraigoan under Chabua police station. It was corroborated from Gohain's family members who told the police that he has been missing since January 17." He also added that "We are suspecting that he may have joined ULFA-I and the police are trying to track him”. TapubanGohain is the second youth from Dibrugarh and eighth individual from upper Assam suspected to have joined ULFA-I after the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests in Assam.