GUWAHATI
Members of eight Adivasi extremist groups, including three factions of as many outfits, surrendered before Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma at a ceremonial function in Guwahati on Sunday.
A total of 1,182 members of all the groups and their factions laid down their arms.
The extremist groups are the Adivasi Cobra Military of Assam, All Adivasi National Liberation Army, Birsa Commando Force, Adivasi People’s Army, and the Santhal Tiger Force. A faction of each of the first three groups was also part of the disarmament process.
Officials said the extremists deposited 304 firearms, including AK series and Insas rifles, 1,460 rounds of ammunition, grenades, improvised explosive devices, RDX, and TNT.
The Adivasi groups, which were active across the tea-growing belts of Assam, had signed a suspension of operations on October 4, 2016. Several rounds of talks culminated in the signing of a peace accord on September 15, 2022.
In keeping with the provisions of the accord, the Assam government set up a 16-member Adivasi Welfare and Development Council on May 22. The members were sworn in on July 6.
During Sunday’s ceremony, the Chief Minister distributed fixed deposit certificates worth ₹4 lakh as a rehabilitation package to each of the 1,182 members of these outfits.
Taking to X, Mr. Sarma said 7,229 “insurgents in Assam have returned to the mainstream” since May 2021. “Our govt has invested ₹305 crore in their rehabilitation,” he said.
