ULFA leaders remanded again

A Kishoreganj court on Wednesday remanded suspected Indian separatist outfit ULFA leader Ranjan Chowdhury and his associate Pradip Marak in police custody for another seven days.

The two men of United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) were produced before the Kishoreganj Chief Metropolitan Magistrates' Court after a three-day remand. This would be the second time the two have been put on remand.

Magistrate Mohammad Ali Ahsan granted the remand upon a petition made by Bhairab police sub-inspector Humayun Kabir for further interrogation.

The Rapid Action Battalion, on July 17, arrested the reported ULFA leaders from the Lakhsmipur area of Bhairab in Kishoreganj with a number of weapons in their possession.

A pistol, a revolver, four rounds of ammunition and four hand grenades were seized from them at the time.

Karim Ullah, deputy assistant director of RAB-9 Bhairab camp, filed four cases with Bhairab police under the Arms Act, Explosives Substances Act, illegal immigration and anti-terrorism acts.

The ULFA leader, Ranjan Chowdhury alias Major Ranjan, has been staying in Bangladesh since 1997 and has been maintaining contact with the group.

Ranjan and his assistant Prodip Marak were arrested from Lakkhmipur area of the Upazila around 4.30am on July 17.

Ranjan is referred to as major Ranjan as he specialises in military training and has been working for ULFA since 1990, commander Mohammad Sohael Ahmed, RAB legal and media wing's director, said in on Saturday.

Ranjan received special training to use firearms and grenades. He escaped to Bangladesh in 1995 after serving a year in prison at India. However, he maintained constant contact with ULFA leaders in Bhutan and Nepal including its military wing chief Paresh Barua. Ranjan hails from Dhubrir Gouripur's Madhu Shoulmari area of Assam.

He lived at Gazni in Jhenaigati Upazila in Sherpur in Bangladesh and married a Bangladeshi woman Sabitri Dum in 2001.

Last December, Indian authorities arrested ULFA chief Arabinda Rajkhowa along with a number of members of the separatist group including his personal bodyguard Raja Bora, the deputy commander-in-chief of the ULFA's military wing Raju Barua.

After the crackdown, ULFA appealed to Awami League government to stop its ongoing operation against the insurgent organisations of northeastern India.

The ULFA 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua had said in a statement e-mailed to bdnews24.com in December that a party like the Awami League, which fought for Bangladesh's freedom, should try and understand "our passion for independence".

Four other insurgent outfits of the troubled region--the outlawed Manipur People's Liberation Front (MPLF), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), National Liberation Front of Tripura (NLFT), All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF)--have also had echoed the ULFA.

Barua, however, in the e-mail, strenuously denied Indian media reports that his organisation was planning to launch attacks in Bangladesh to avenge the handover of Rajkhowa and other leaders.

However, it was later proved that Rajkhowa has long been staying in Bangladesh under the alias of Mizanur Rahman Chowdhury and even had a Bangladeshi passport citing him to be a citizen by birth.

ULFA general secretary Anup Chetia is currently in a Bangladeshi prison.

The ULFA has been pursuing an armed struggle since 1979 with the professed objective of liberating the hydrocarbon-rich northeastern Indian state of Assam from what they term as New Delhi's 'colonial rule'. Thousands have died during its insurgent campaign.