10 NDFB cadres killed, over 300 nabbed in five months: DGP

During the five-month security operation against the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants, 10 members of the outfit have been killed and over 300 cadres and linkmen arrested, an official said.

Assam Director General of Police Khagen Sarma, revealing this on Tuesday, said the continued operation against the outfit also resulted in substantial improvement of the law and order situation in the hill state.

"We have also recovered over 100 sophisticated arms, including factory-made weapons, and 62.5 kg of explosives during our operations all these months in different locations of the state," Sarma said.

Assam Police in association with the central paramilitary forces and the army launched the operation against the NDFB faction, which is opposed to any peace talks, after the outfit massacred over 70 civilians, including women and children, in three districts of Assam on December 23 last year.

Giving the report card on five months of the operation, the DGP told the media that the operations were continuing and 343 cadres have been arrested so far. Of these, 204 were active cadres and the rest were over ground workers and sympathisers.

After the December 23 massacre, the central government ruled out any talks with the NDFB faction and sent additional companies of security forces to assist Assam police in its operation against the militants.

"We have received about 50 companies of paramilitary forces and they are still stationed here to assist the state police in counter-insurgency operations," Sarma said.

The state police chief, however, said that the outfit was still trying to set up its camps in Manas Reserve Forest in Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts and about 35 to 40 of its members were still moving around in the state.

He said the top brass of the outfit, including its leader I.K. Songbijit, has already shifted base to foreign soil like in Myanmar.