12 militants surrender in Assam

TAMULPUR-NALBARI: Five Ulfa and sevenNDFB militants surrendered with one AK-47, one .303 rifle, one sten gun, one 9mmpistol, hand grenades and assorted ammunition before Brigadier Jatinder Singh,Commander Tamulpur Brigade of Red Horns Division, on Thursday giving themilitant outfits a major blow.Brig. Singh, Commander of Tamulpur Garrison,said that the militants lend active support to each other in all mattersincluding halting at each other''s camps.Randeep Kumar Patgiri of NDFBtalking about the so called "pressure from Bhutan government" to close militantcamps said that the camps at one place are closed only to be shifted toanother.Himan Deuri, an Ulfa militant and in charge of stores division,while corroborating the statement of Patgiri said that there are 2500 to 3000cadres of Ulfa in various camps in Bhutan and they also keep getting militantsfrom NDFB and KLO to their camps.Deuri who led the surrender of Ulfamilitants stated that he had joined the organisation after doing odd jobs forthe militants in his area. He called upon other militants to surrender asviolence has never helped any one achieve their goals.The Red HornDivision combining the surrender ceremony with the Anti-terrorism Day observedall over the country to mark the death of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhiset a new trend by making hardcore militants pledge for peace and development ofthe state.Brig. Jatinder Singh, while addressing the function informedthat the Army will help the youth in various fields to make them selfreliant.Maj. Gen. Gaganjit Singh, AVSM and GOC Red Horn Division, in amessage lauded the decision of surrendered militants to shun the path ofviolence and join national mainstream. DC Nalbari Kalyan Chakraborty,talking to the media assured the militants that the administration would givethem all possible help start life afresh.