 | | Assam governor J.B. Patnaik with the delegates at Raj Bhavan in Guwahati on Tuesday. Picture by UB Photos |
Guwahati, Dec. 20: Assam governor J.B. Patnaik today said the Ulfa group led by Paresh Barua has offered sophisticated arms and funds to the Maoists. "I have been informed that the Paresh Barua group of Ulfa is in constant negotiation with them (Maoists) and is willing to provide both sophisticated weapons and requisite funds," the governor said during his valedictory address on the concluding day of the two-day conference of DGPs/IGPs and heads of central police organisation in the Northeast at Raj Bhavan today. "As you know, once the Maoists or the Naxalites establish a beachhead in any part of the country, they quickly spread their tentacles to the rest of the area in no time. That is what happened in Odisha and Chhattisgarh," he said. "The danger signal in the Northeast should be taken seriously and immediate steps should be taken to bring the isolated areas suffering from decades of neglect by the administration to the mainstream of development so that they (the Maoists) will be denied easy recruitment of youths from those areas," Patnaik said. According to him, the Maoists are mostly active in certain areas of Dhemaji and Tinsukia districts bordering lower Dibang valley and Lohit districts of Arunachal Pradesh. "The geographical isolation of the areas has contributed to the proliferation of their activities. There is ample evidence of the Maoists sending their cadres to Odisha and Jharkhand to undergo training under the hardcore Maoist leaders there," he said. The governor also expressed concern over reports of Maoists functioning under different overt organisations among students, youths, tea labourers and the Mega Dam Resistance Forum. Patnaik said Paresh Barua, who has been isolated, has found shelter near the China-Myanmar border in the Yunan province of China. "Only a few unemployed and frustrated young men are recruited by the rump of Ulfa. Barring this particular section insulated in a particular area, there is no more unrestricted trans-border movement of militant groups," said Patnaik. He lauded the security forces for their concerted effort to eliminate insurgency in the region resulting in significant improvement in the law and order situation but asked them to guard against complacency. Stressing the need for rehabilitation of surrendered militants, the governor said because of delay in rehabilitation, many former rebels have been indulging in robbery, snatching and abduction. "The cadres should not be in (designated) camps for too long. Steps should be taken for their rehabilitation either by providing them government jobs or through self- employment schemes," Patnaik said. He said efficient officers should be posted by the government in the areas where peace has returned, with a clear mandate for speedier implementation of various government-sponsored welfare schemes for the weaker sections of society in order to ensure rapid economic development in those areas. "Youths from the backward areas should be recruited into the police force or else they may opt to join militant groups," he said. | 
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