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ULFA stepping up recruitment drive

By Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, Nov 2 � At a time when the Assam Government has been trying to start the process of talks with the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), the hardliners in the outfit headed by the commander-in-chief, Paresh Barua are trying to launch a fresh recruitment drive to increase the strength of ULFA.

Highly placed police sources said that the outfit has been able to start the recruitment drive in the upper Assam districts. However, sources said that the ULFA has not been able to recruit large number of youths as was the cas before. But according to information available with the security forces, youths in small numbers are still being recruited and there were specific intelligence inputs, which indicated that a few new recruits were also sent to the camps of the ULFA in Myanmar.

Sources said that the ULFA still has strong bases in Myanmar as according to inputs available, at least 150 members of the outfit are staying in the camps in the neighbouring country and senior member of the outfit, Jiban Moran is in charge of the camp. Though the Government of Myanmar assured India of launching coordinated operations to evict the camps of the Indian militant groups in that country, Myanmar has not yet been able to launch sustained operations and though sporadic operations are launched from time to time, the militants are able to relocate the camps by taking advantage of the terrain.

The deployment of the Assam Rifles also failed to seal the international border with Myanmar because of the tough terrain and the militants are still being able to move between India and Myanmar by taking advantage of the unguarded portions of the international border.

Sources said that the hardliners in the ULFA are also trying to launch extortion drive to boost the coffers of the outfit but because of the prevailing situation, the militants were forced to change its tactics. Sources revealed that these days, the members of the ULFA do not come to deliver the extortion notes themselves and a number of persons in Guwahati received extortion notes by courier service. Some persons also received phone calls from persons identifying themselves as ULFA members, sources added.

Police said that in some cases, unscrupulous elements also tried to make easy money by demanding money from traders by claiming themselves to be members of the ULFA and several such persons have also been arrested.

However, police sources revealed that the number of persons coming forward to inform the men in uniform about receipt of such demands has also increased and "we believe that not many people are actually paying the militants at this moment."

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