Rajkhowa resents handcuffs, vows never to surrender

Rajkhowa, Baruah and Raja Borah, who were picked up along with their family on Indo-Bangladesh border on Friday, were produced in a court to face legal process in a 1998 case and were remanded to 12 days police custody.

ULFA ‘chairman’ Rajkhowa and ‘deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah were brought with handcuffs. After the brief remand proceedings, both the leaders claimed they have not surrendered before the Indian authorities and that they were “betrayed” by Bangladesh.

“We have not surrendered and there can be no talks with handcuffs on. Bangladesh has betrayed us. We have to be free. We want peace, but not in this way,” Rajkhowa shouted to newsmen before being taken away after production.

“We should have worn the garland of victory and come, but we had to come with handcuffs on. We have not surrendered and will never ever surrender,” he said. Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be in Myanmar and had on Friday asked Rajkhowa not to fall into the government’s trap of dialogue, on Saturday denied there was any split in the organisation and he had “full confidence” in Rajkhowa.

“We are ready for dialogue provided sovereignty for Assam is discussed,” he said in an email to the media from an undisclosed location fine-tuning his reservation on the dialogue process.

Raju Baruah claimed that their arrest was “a deep-rooted conspiracy but it will not end our movement. It will continue”.

In the court of Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan, police asked for a 14-day custody while the lawyer of the ULFA leaders opposed it. After hearing both the sides, the CJM remanded them to 12 days police custody.

The ULFA leaders were booked under the Special Operation Unit 2/98 which is a legal document that has the names of Rajkhowa, Barua and Bora and also under Section 384 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Denying that there was a split in the ULFA, he said “There is no split in the ULFA and we have full confidence in Chairman Rajkhowa.