Rajkhowa, others may be charged under IPC, TADA

Self-styled chairman of the rebel United Liberation Front of Asom Arabinda Rajkhowa and ten other ULFA cadres, who were handed over to India by Bangladesh on Friday, will be produced in a court in Guwahati on Saturday afternoon and could be charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and the stringent Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act.

Sources here have suggested that Rajkhowa and the other arrested ULFA men could be sent to jail and would also face the judicial process.

Apart from IPC and TADA, Rajkhowa may also be charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

On Friday, Rajkhowa and the self-styled deputy commander-in-chief of the outfit Raju Baruah were placed under arrest. They and their family members were taken into custody after they "surrendered" before the Border Security Force in the Dawki sector of the India-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya.

The others handed over are Rajkhowa's wife, Kaberi Kachari (42), his two sons Gadadhar (5) and Kamsena (13), Baruah's wife, Nirala Neog (30) and his minor son Hemanta, Runima Choudhury (41), wife of Sashadhar Choudhury, the arrested ULFA foreign secretary, and the couple's 10-month-old daughter Hema, and Raja Bora, PSO of Rajkhowa.

Rajkhowa is likely to be lodged in a Guwahati jail.

Sasha Choudhury and Chitrabon Hazarika, the two other senior leaders of the ULFA, are already in custody. Some key operatives of the Lashkar have also been picked up in Bangladesh.

Rajkhowa had earlier been pinned down in an operation on October 27, but had managed to get away.

ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah, who is based in China, is known to be opposed to talks with India. The rift between him and Rajkhowa also helped India get Rajkhowa to agree to talks.