Explained: Ruthless outfit that’s hard to nail down

The group has suffered two splits, and two factions have held talks with the government.

What is the NDFB(S)?
It is a breakaway faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), which was formed in 1986 as Bodo Security Force and changed its name to NDFB in 1994. The group has suffered two splits, and two factions — NDFB(Progressive) and NDFB(R) — have held talks with the government. I K Songbijit, who was “army commander” under founder-chairman Ranjan Daimary, split from NDFB(R) in 2012 to form the NDFB(S), taking with him a sizeable number of weapons. It has about 270 cadres, 150 of them in Myanmar.

Do all Bodos support the NDFB(S)?
While cadres of the NDFB(S) are called “Bodo militants”, a majority of Bodo people don’t support it. The All Bodo Students’ Union, the Bodo People’s Front and the Bodo People’s Progressive Front strongly oppose it. On Wednesday, 5,000 Bodos took out a rally in Kokrajhar condemning the outfit’s actions.

Why have security forces failed to stop NDFB(S)?
Because rebels strike in villages inside forests close to boundaries with Arunachal Pradesh and Bhutan. By the time news of an attack reaches a police station, they are gone. Plus, there aren’t many roads to such places.

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What is the outfit’s past record?
The NDFB(S) is one of the most brutal outfits in the Northeast. In May, they raided a Muslim migrants settlement and killed over 50 people. In August, they dragged Class IX student Priya Basumatary, whom they claimed was a police informer, from her house in Chirang district and sprayed her with bullets. On Tuesday, they killed 18 children, including a five-month-old.

What prompted the latest attack?
The government says it is in retaliation to killing of 25 of its cadres. On Monday, the Centre had held talks with the NDFB(P), while the Assam CM had said the government would come down heavily on militant groups indulging in violence.

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