From Our Correspondent
Guwahati: The arrested Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) leader and an Executive Member of Bodoland Territorial Autonomous District Council (BTC), Mono Kumar Brahma, was remanded in 14-day judicial custody by the court of chief judicial magistrate, Kokrajhar on his production on Monday.
However, the BPF leader was later admitted to Rupnath Brahma Civil Hospital in Kokrajhar because of his ill-health.
He was arrested on Saturday morning by police after recovery of two AK-47 assault rifles and 60 rounds of ammunition from his residence during an early morning raid operation.
Meanwhile, curfew was relaxed for eight hours from 8 am to 4 pm on Monday in the violence-hit Kokrajhar district as there was no fresh incident of violence during the last 24 hours, a police source informed
But indefinite curfew remained enforced in five villages — Nalbari, Ziaguri, Tiplabeel, Tintila and Alurbhui — in Kokrajhar sub-division of the district and four villages namely, Subkata Part I, Number 2 Bajou Gaon, Howriapet and Bhumka in Gossaingaon sub-division.
The arrest of BPF leader has severely threatened the seven-year alliance between the BPF and Congress in Assam.
BPF chief Hagrama Mohilary has termed the arrest of party leader Brahma a part of deep-rooted conspiracy against the BPF and stated that the party was ready to walk out of alliance with Congress if the latter asked it to do so.
On the other hand Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi stated that it was up to the BPF to decide whether to continue its alliance with Congress or not.
The ruling Congress has 78 MLAs of its own in the 126-member Assam Assembly while it ally BPF has 11 MLAs.
The Congress practically doesn’t need the support of the BPF to sustain its government in the State.