The Paresh Barua faction of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) has threatened to target ‘Indians living in Assam’ if state-sponsored terror against locals do not stop.
“We condemn the atrocities perpetrated on locals by Indian colonial forces, particularly the CRPF Cobra commandos. If they are not withdrawn, Indians living in Assam will have to pay for it,” a spokesperson of the outfit said via email on Thursday. The threat comes amidst an extensive anti-Ulfa offensive by combined teams of the police and Cobra commandos in eastern Assam.
The Ulfa had earlier killed Hindi-speaking people after issuing such a threat. Hindi speakers, for the outfit, represent 'colonial India'.
The police, however, brushed the threat aside. “Joint operations against the militants will continue as long as they are here,” Dibrugarh district superintendent of police Arabinda Kalita said.