The anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB) headed by founder Chairman Ranjan Daimary has threatened to kill 20 non-Bodo persons for every Bodo tribal killed at the hands of the security forces. It was a sequel to the killing of a Bodo youth, Sumil Boro by the security forces in the Kamrup district. Sumil Boro was not a militant. The NDFB militants claim that many innocent Bodo youth have been targeted and victimised by Assam Police and security forces in the name of putting down insurgency. They have warned the government against such killings. It may be recalled that the NDFB had issued a similar threat in November 2010 after the security forces had killed at least 20 of its cadres over a period of three months apart from arresting 15 of them. Ranjan Daimary had been handed over by Bangladesh in 2010 and is now in Guwahati Central Jail.
The scenario is bleaker than what Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi would have one believe. He said that apart from Maoists, the different groups of militants had been brought under control. True, the greater part of the NDFB is for talks with the Centre as is the ULFA. But the anti-talks section of the rebel body still casts a gloom. Daimary is in jail but he leads the belligerent cadres of the NDFB from his captivity. It is not clear when negotiations will be held with the NDFB and the ceasefire will become a permanent reality. The latest threat shows that the anti-talks faction still has a formidable presence. The security forces should be most careful to ensure that they do not target innocent Bodos.
