Ex-IB chief Haldar to try to bring Bodo hardliners to table

The central government's peace interlocutor and former Intelligence Bureau chief P C Haldar has been entrusted to facilitate peace talks with the hardliner faction of National Democratic Front of Bodoland, a tribal insurgent group in Assam led by Ranjan Daimary.

Daimary is currently in prison.

Assam chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, who is also in charge of the home department, informed that Haldar had been entrusted to get in touch with concerned quarters to facilitate dialogue with the NDFB hardliners faction.

It was Haldar who had played a key role in making a peace process possible with a faction of the United Liberation Front of Assam. He is also negotiating with other tribal outfits in the region on behalf of the government of India.

Another faction of the NDFB called the NDFB (Progressive) led by Gobinda Basumatary is already engaged in a peace process with the Centre.

The faction led by Ranjan Daimary was opposed to the peace process involving the NDFB (P) and Government of India.

However, there was a dramatic turnaround after its chairman Ranjan Daimary was last year arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to the Indian government.

Daimary is also the prime accused in October 30, 2008 serial blasts that rocked Assam as per the chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation. There was an appeal from a section of the civil society amid the Bodo tribe for his release of bail and starting of negotiations with the NDFB faction led by Daimary.

Meanwhile, the Assam government is eagerly expecting Anup Chetia, the general secretary of the United Liberation Front of Asom who is now under protective custody in Bangladesh, in the wake of India and Bangladesh on Monday deciding to go for exchange of sentenced persons.

Both sides also agreed that the Extradition Treaty, under consideration by both the governments, should be finalised at an early date. 

The ULFA general secretary, who was arrested in Bangladesh in 1997, completed his jail term and he is now under the 'protective custody of the government of Bangladesh'.

Though India was pressing for his return, the lack of an extradition treaty between both the countries complicated Chetia's extradition. The ULFA leader, who is close to the outfit's anti-talks faction leader Paresh Barua, is expected to play a key role in success of the on-going peace process with the ULFA.