Modi urged to withdraw heinous cases against NDFB leaders

The Bodoland Territorial Council chief Hagrama Mohilary Friday requested Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure that all criminal cases against the cadres of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB), including for heinous acts, are withdrawn.

Mohilary, who was himself a militant till 2003, made the request at an official function held here to celebrate the signing of the Bodo accord.

Modi, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal and Governor Jagdish Mukhi were present at the programme.

"For the NDFB, all cases should be withdrawn. Whether they are heinous or non-heinous," Mohilary said addressing the mammoth gathering in which surrendered leaders of different factions of NDFB were present.

Modi in his address did not mention anything about withdrawal of the cases.

According to the peace accord, criminal cases against the members of NDFB for non-heinous crimes will be withdrawn by the Assam government as per the law.

Criminal cases registered in connection with heinous crimes will be reviewed case by case according to the existing policy on the subject, the agreement said.

Citing his own past as example, Mohilary said that all cases against members of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) were withdrawn after the outfit entered into an agreement with the government in 2003, leading to the creation of Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The BLT members had formed the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF), which is in power in BTC and is also an alliance partner of the ruling BJP in the state government.

All the factions of the NDFB along with All Bodo Students Union and United Bodo People's Organisation had signed the accord with the government on January 27, 2020 which provided political and economic bonanza to the Bodoland region sans a separate state or union territory.

Following this, a total 1,615 cadres from all the factions of NDFB laid down their arms on January 30 and deposited their arms and ammunition.

NDFB's Ranjan Daimary faction had carried out serial bomb blasts across Assam on October 30, 2008 that claimed 88 lives aand left more than 500 injured.

Daimary, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for the blasts, was released on interim bail on January 25 to participate in the Bodo peace talks with the Centre.

The NDFB(S), another dreaded faction, had killed 43 people, mostly from the minority community, in Baksa and Kokrajhar districts in May 2014.

In more attacks the outfit killed at least 81 people, including 76 adivasis, in Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Baksa and Chirang districts in December that year.

During the signing of the agreement, Union Home Minister Amit Shah had said over 4,000 lives were lost in the region due to insurgency by the Bodos which had continued for several decades.

Speaking at the function Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma invited ULFA(I) militants to peace talks by abjuring violence for permanent peace in the state.