ULFA chairman Rajkhowa's police remand extended

Security concerns prompted the authorities to hold a camp court inside the Central jail in Guwahati on Thursday afternoon for production of arrested United Liberation Front of Assam Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Raju Barauh and Rajkhowa's body guard Raja Bora.

The court of chief judicial magistrate of Kamrup district while holding the camp court on Thursday remanded the three ULFA men, who were arrested earlier this month, for nine more days of police custody in response to police's prayer for 14 days custody.

While the police sought a 14-day custody of each of them in three different cases, Kamrup District Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan granted nine days' custody of the trio.

Rajkhowa's lawyer Bijan Mahajan said, "The CJM, after listening to both sides, allowed only three days' custody in each case, totalling to nine days."

The police had shown the three as arrested in separate cases registered in Paltanbazar, Bharalumukh and Bhangagarh police stations in Guwahati city. All cases were related to incidents of explosions, the lawyer said.

Earlier, the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) of Kamrup sought permission from the state government to hold a camp court inside the high-security Guwahati jail because of security concerns in producing the ULFA leaders in the usual court premises.

Rajkhowa and Raju Baruah were on Thursday allowed to meet their family members. Even in custody, the ULFA chairman has remained adamant to the outfit's main demand for 'restoration of sovereignty of Assam'.

"He (Rajkhowa) specifically told me that the ULFA was definitely interested in holding talks with the government provided its original demand (for sovereignty) figured in the agenda of talks," Rajkhowa's elder brother Ajoy Rajkonwar told media persons after meeting him in the camp court.

That implies that talks with the banned ULFA sans its fugitive commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah remains a remote possibility with the arrested chairman of the outfit declining to budge from the outfit's demand for 'restoration of sovereignty of Assam' -- the major hurdle in the path of initiating peace talks.