Massive surrender in decades as over 600 militants lay down arms in Assam

In a major breakthrough, 644 militants of 8 different outfits have laid down their arms in Assam on Thursday. This is the largest surrender in decades, as the last such laying down of arms happened in the early '90s, when Hiteshwar Saikia was the Chief Minister. 

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, who also holds the Home department of Assam, added another feather to his hat on Thursday as 644 militants, which include trained guerillas from Myanmar joined the mainstream. 

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Surrender ceremony of militants

The militants are mostly from the National Liberation Front of Bengalis (NLFB) 301, NDFB 8, KLO 6, RNLF 13, CPI-Maoist 1, NSLA 87, ADF 178 and 50 from the United Liberation Front of Assam-Independent (ULFA-I). 177 arms including AK series rifles, automatic guns, 9mm pistols, over 1600 rounds of ammunition, grenades, detonators, etc were laid down by the militants. The surrender ceremony was attended by Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal along with top officials of the State government.

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It may be mentioned that the development comes close to the heels of the NDFB anti-talks faction deciding to go for a fresh peace agreement with the Government of India.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, "Those youths who strayed into terrorism and extremist activities must be given an opportunity to come back to the mainstream society and rebuild their lives. I welcome all members of extremist groups who have laid down their arms today to lead a normal life again and contribute meaningfully to the nation-building process through hard work and dedication. It will inspire other such militant organization members to come back to mainstream society."

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It may be mentioned that, soon after taking over as Chief Minister in 2016, Sonowal had declared 'Zero Tolerance Against Terrorism', a promise also made in their election manifesto. 

"This is an important day for the state and the Assam Police. Altogether 644 cadres and leaders of eight militant groups laid down their arms," Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta said to the media.

He further added that this is one of the largest surrender of militants in recent times.

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