ULFA splinter group does a Shiv Sena

The pro-talks group of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) took a leaf out of the Shiv Sena book to raid the office of an Assamese daily in eastern Assam's Tinsukia town on Monday afternoon, reports Rahul Karmakar.

The pro-talks group of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) took a leaf out of the Shiv Sena book to raid the office of an Assamese daily in eastern Assam's Tinsukia town on Monday afternoon.

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According to employees of the multi-edition Dainik Janambhoomi, a group of armed men led by Prabal Neog, ex-commander of the ULFA's 28 Battalion raided their office around 3.10 pm.

The use of the word 'surrendered' prefixed to his name in a report apparently angered Neog, who prefers being addressed as 'pro-talks ULFA leader'. The daily had also been running a series on the pro-talks group's extortion drive in eastern Assam.

"The group damaged office furniture besides holding a pistol against one of our staff. The manager was out of station, and most of the reporters were in the field at that time. Neog and his men went away in a huff after locking the office," an employee of the daily said.

The office manager later lodged an FIR with the Tinsukia police against Neog and his men. "We are looking into the case," said district Superintendent of Police Diganta Bora.

Neog, caught in 2007 near Tezpur, is one of a troika of leaders controlling the ULFA's dreaded A & C companies that declared truce over a year ago. The other two are Mrinal Hazarika and Jiten Dutta. Some 300 cadres of these two companies are housed in two designated camps, one at Kakopathar and the other near Sadiya, both in Tinsukia district.