On Saturday, 7th January 2023, Assam police arrested former MLA Hitesh Basumatary and his two accomplices for allegedly attempting to float a terrorist group. When the police searched the former MLA Hitesh Basumatary’s home in the Kokrajhar district, they found two rifles – an AK-47 and an M16 – along with more than 100 live bullets.
The other two arrested are identified as Daorao Deshreb Narzary, Executive president of Bodoland Jatiya Saruksh Manch, and Vikram Daimary, president of Bodoland Kontark association.
Kokrajhar Superintendent of Police Pushpraj Singh said, “The police arrested the ex-MLA of the Chapaguri assembly constituency. Police also recovered one AK series rifle with magazine, 126 rounds of AK ammunition, one M-16 rifle with magazine, and 9 rounds ammunition.”
He further said, “They were conspiring to form a new terror organization. Based on that, they were arrested. We produced Hitesh Basumatary and two others in a local court and it sent them to five-day police remand.”
When asked if they were trying to float the organization in the Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR), he said that the police will make all the details public after questioning the three men.
The police have registered a case against them under sections 120 (B), 121, 121(A), 122, 124(A) of the IPC, sections 16, 17, 18, 18(A), 18(B), 19, 20, 21 of the UAPA and section 66 of the IT Act.
Hitesh Basumatary, a Bodoland People’s Front leader, triumphed in the 2011 Assembly elections from the Chapaguri constituency. Additionally, he held the position of Executive Member of the Bodoland Territorial Council.
Hitesh Basumatary is a leader of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) led by Hagrama Mohilary, a former militant leader. Mohilary was the chief of the Bodo militant group Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT), but later he surrendered and formed BPF in 2005. A large number of former militants joined the party after returning to the mainstream. BPF was part of NDA and was part of the Sarbananda Sonowal led BJPgovrnment in the state. But it joined UPA ahead of the 2021 Assam assembly elections after BJP decided to dump it to form an alliance with UPPL, BPF’s rival party in the Bodo region.
Following the signing of a trilateral agreement in January 2020 by representatives of the Centre, the Assam government, and the Bodo people, including all factions of the terrorist group National Democratic Front of Bodoland, violence has decreased in the BTR.