Finding itself in a soup over the arrest of one of its senior leaders, Hira Sarania, by the police on charges of twin murders and robbery, the pro-talks faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam on Wednesday decided to suspend him from the primary membership of the organisation, besides relieving him of all his responsibilities.
The decision was taken in a joint sitting of the central executive committee and steering committee of the orgaisation held on Wednesday to discuss the situation arising out of the arrest of the senior leader.
Earlier, the pro-talks faction of the ULFA had announced that it was going to institute an impartial internal inquiry into the charges leveled against Sarania. The ULFA also stated that Sarani's arrest would no way put up hurdle in the on-going peace talks with the government.
Meanwhile, the anti-talks faction of the ULFA had alleged that the pro-talks faction was in possession of a hue quantity of arms and ammunition that was stolen from its armoury when some of the leaders of the pro-talks faction came over ground jettisoning, in principle, the path of violence to hold dialogue with the government.
The ULFA hawks also alleged that senior officials of Assam police were aware of availability of arms and ammunition with the pro-talks faction of the ULFA.
The police on Tuesday had recovered one AK-56 rifles with 30 rounds of ammunition and Rs 12 lakh in cash from Sarania's Nalbari Helsa residence who was accused of murdering two employees of a Guwahati-based realtor and after committing robbery at the latter's residence.