By Syed Zarir Hussain, IANS
Guwahati : A shadowy Adivasi insurgent group in Assam with definite links with some of northeastern India’s frontline separatist groups and a possible nexus with the Maoists could well turn out to be the new terror front in the state, security officials said Wednesday.
The All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA), formed in 2004 to push the interest of the Adivasi or tea plantation workers’ community across the state, has shot into the limelight after the group claimed responsibility for the Dec 13 bomb attack on a Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express train in eastern Assam that killed five passengers and injured nine others.
“The AANLA has a written agreement with the Isak-Muivah faction of the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) for possible joint operations against the security forces and of not carrying out extortion in each others’ areas of influence without prior notice,” an Assam police official told IANS.
The AANLA is trying to capitalise on the Adivasi sentiments after the community’s agitation for scheduled tribe (ST) status has gained momentum following the Nov 24 rally here that turned violent after protesters clashed with local residents.
On Tuesday, the Army in the eastern Tinsukia district captured five hardcore cadres of AANLA with three revolvers and an improvised explosive device. Preliminary reports suggest the rebels had plans for yet another attack on the super-fast Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express that starts from Tinsukia.
“We believe some AANLA leaders are operating out of Jharkhand and therefore the outfit establishing linkages with Naxalite (Maoist) groups cannot be ruled out. We are keeping a close watch on their activities,” the police official said.
The group was formed three years ago in the Singhashan hills of Karbi Anglong district, in southern Assam, to push for greater rights for the community, including ST status for them.
The AANLA is believed to have a listed cadre strength of less than a hundred, mostly in Karbi Anglong, Golaghat and Jorhat districts. However, of late, AANLA is spreading its tentacles in the eastern tea-growing districts of Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.
ANLA started its terror run by kidnapping wealthy members from within the community, including businessmen and relatives of some local politicians in southern Assam.
During the initial days after its formation, the ANLA received patronage from the Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA), active in Karbi Anglong district. Later, the NSCN-IM took the group under its wings.
“This is definitely a new terror front in Assam and the security establishment must focus its attention on the group aside from concentrating its efforts to neutralise some of the better known insurgent outfits,” said Wasbir Hussain, a security analyst and Director of the Guwahati-based Centre for Development and Peace Studies.