ULFA splits,Barua forms new central body

The split in the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is now complete,with the anti-talk faction headed by self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Barua announcing the formation of a new 16-member central committee leaving out those who had gone with chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa for peace talks with the government.

A statement issued by Arunoday Dahotiya of the Paresh Barua faction on Monday also said it would soon name three “eminent” persons as political advisors,while a three-member permanent committee would be set up in place of the central executive council.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi,meanwhile,said the government would only recognise Rajkhowa-headed ULFA faction which began peace talks with it.

Meanwhile,two hardcore ULFA cadres were killed on Sunday in Sivasagar district while they were trying to plant a bomb in the Guwahati-Dibrugarh railway track. Sivasagar SP Akhilesh Kumar Singh said the two militants —Ramen Dhadumiya and Hiren Gogoi — were targeting either the New Delhi-bound Rajdhani Express that leaves Dibrugarh late in the evening,or the Dibrugarh-bound Brahmaputra Mail.