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Assam police divided over disarming SULFA

Nitin Gogoi in Guwahati

Shaken by the public outcry over the 'secret killings', several MLAs and ministers of the ruling Asom Gana Parishad have demanded an urgent action plan by the government to stop the clashes even as serious differences have cropped up within the top the top brass of the Assam police over the issue of disarming Surrendered ULFA or SULFA members.

Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta has been meeting small groups of ministers and MLAs from his party over the weekend. All of them reportedly told Mahanta that the image of the government has taken a severe beating because of a spate of 'mysterious killings' in the state last week.

At least three surrendered militants were killed by the banned ULFA on January 3. The killing was followed by apparent retaliatory attacks on the family members of top ULFa militants by as yet unidentified persons. On January 5, Guwahati observed a spontaneous bandh protesting against the killings. The bandh was followed by an outcry for disarming the surrendered militants.

Many people think the police, with the help of surrendered militants, are killing the family members of ULFA activists in a classic replay of the tactics adopted by K P S Gill in Punjab in the early 1980s.

But security sources said serious differences have emerged in the top echelons of the Assam police over the issue of disarming the SULFA and controlling their high-handedness against innocent people. Sources said though the director general of police HK Deka is in favour of taking action against the SULFA, a number of other officials who are engaged in the anti-insurgency operations have totally opposed it.

They argue that these SULFA members have been helping the police by providing information and other assistance against the ULFA. Besides, there is a question of their security. However, sources said, others argue that because of the various unlawful activities of some of the SULFA men, the image of the Assam police has been totally shattered.

At least 3,000 militants have surrendered to the authorities in the past one year. Many of them are given state protection and several are still housed in high security police complexes due to the threat to their lives by the underground militants.

Meanwhile, Guwahati city police commissioner S P Singh said that police had already started an operation to seize illegal weapons in the possession of the SULFA members. "We have already directed the officers-in-charge of all the police stations to take action against anyone found possessing illegal weapons," he said.

In another development, a prominent former ULFA leader Sunil Nath has appealed for a ceasefire from both sides to avoid further bitterness. Nath, popularly known as Siddartha Phukan in his earlier avatar as the first publicity chief of the ULFA before he came overground in 1992, said people from all walks of life want peace. "Both sides must respect this yearning," he said in a statement on Saturday.

EARLIER REPORT:

Assam government under pressure to disarm SULFA

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