"Peace talks should not be hit after NDFB's life sentence"

An organisation of Bodo women Wednesday expressed hope that the life sentence awarded to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) chief Ranjan Daimary would not derail its ongoing peace talks with the government.

Ranjan Daimary and nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment by a CBI special court on Wednesday in the 2008 Assam serial blast case that had claimed 88 lives.

"We appeal to the government that there is still time and that they give priority to peace process to ensure that it is not derailed," Bodo Womens' Justice Forum president Anjali Daimari, also sister of Ranjan Daimary, said.

How can the organisation carry on with the peace process when its president is in jail to serve a life term, Anjali Daimari asked.

The NDFB is under a ceasefire agreement with the Assam and Union Government since May 2005.

"He (Ranjan Daimari) was engaged in every talk (held earlier)," she told reporters outside the CBI court after her brother was sentenced to life.

Anjali Daimari said they will keep on fighting legally and move a higher court against this verdict.

Ranjan Daimary formed an outfit Bodo Security Force in 1986 and in 1994, changed its name to National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB). Its objective was to secure a Bodoland state in the areas north of the river Brahmaputra in Assam.