GUWAHATI, March 23 � The United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) is desperate to make its presence felt in the run-up to the ensuing Lok Sabha polls, but the outfit does not have a strong presence on the ground to continue with a sustained offensive in any part of the State.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that the outfit desperately wanted to show its strength in the run-up to the elections, particularly because of the fact that the first phase of the polls will be held on April 7, which is the foundation day of the outfit.
However, sources said that in recent times the ULFA(I) is facing its worst-ever crisis and it does not have a strong presence on the ground to launch any sustained offensive in any part of the State. Sources said that according to information available with the security forces, not more than 10 hardcore members of the ULFA(I) are inside Assam and the outfit would have to take help of other militant groups or linkmen to launch any offensive. Sources said that the possibility of the militant outfit lobbing a grenade or two with the help of linkmen cannot be ruled out.
Sources revealed that according to information available with the security forces, the ULFA (I) members who are inside Assam at this moment include Rajen Deka and Ramesh Bora, who are around the Darrang and Udalguri areas, while another hardcore member Sagar Topno is in Lakhimpur. Though another hardcore leader Drishti Rajkhowa has around 10 youths with him, they are in Garo Hills of Meghalaya and there has been no report of their movement towards Assam in recent times.
Sources said that the ULFA(I) has around 180 cadres in the camps in Myanmar and the senior leaders who were in Mon district of Nagaland, were called back to Myanmar after the outfit awarded death sentence to senior member Partha Gogoi. The senior leaders of the ULFA are not very keen on sending hardcore members to Assam from Myanmar as a number of cadres either surrendered or were killed after they came down from the camps in the neighbouring country.
Interestingly, ULFA leaders like Nayan Medhi and Arunodoi Dohotiya are still calling up people from Myanmar demanding money and there are reports that some of those who received such calls paid the militant group through linkmen as fear psychosis among the people still exists despite the outfit not having a strong presence on the ground, sources added.
