'Roam in Guwahati without security', ULFA-I dares Assam DGP

Guwahati, Dec 16:  The United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), a proscribed militant group, has challenged Gyanendra Pratap Singh, the director general of police (DGP) of Assam to wander free and unhindered without any security personnel around him in Guwahati for a week.

The self-styled 'Captain Rumel Asom' of the outlawed group challenged the Assam DGP in a statement posted on Saturday.

He said: "GP Singh, while speaking to the media on December 15, gave us a challenge. We have accepted it on two conditions. Firstly, use Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) or Indian Army (excluding youths of WeSEA region) instead of the state police officers and constables as drivers and security officers. Secondly, roam freely around Guwahati for just one week if you can."

According to Rumel Asom, ULFA-I made the decision decades ago to refrain from fighting alongside local law enforcement, Assam Police, and military officers, including those from the WeSEA region.

Notably, some of the militant groups active in the northeastern region have formed an alliance to fight against the governments of India, Bhutan and Myanmar. They use the term 'Western Southeast Asia' (WESEA) to describe the region in which they operate.

"Many officers died at our hands during the clashes triggered by senior cops like Daulat Singh Negi and RK Singh in the past. Those killed officers were our brothers, so we decided to avoid any further clashes. Now GP Singh is repeatedly trying to bring that conflict back, ULFA-I warns him to refrain from this," Rumel Asom wrote.

ULFA-I asserted that the Assam DGP lacked the guts to take them on and that the Assam police had previously killed their unarmed cadres.

Earlier on Friday, G.P. Singh issued a stern warning to the militant group ULFA-I for recent blasts that occurred in the state.

ULFA-I took responsibility for three small explosions that happened in the districts of Tinsukia, Sivasagar, and Jorhat in Assam between November 22 and December 13. The banned outfit also accused the G.P. Singh of considering the state police as his "ancestral property", and the group accused him of being warned off by these explosions.

They threatened to start further explosions of this nature if Singh "does not reverse his course".

In response, Singh stated on Friday that ULFA-I should attack him directly rather than hurling grenades in public areas if they have issues with him alone.

"I live in Kahilipara and work in Ulubari in Guwahati... they (ULFA-I) are welcome to come see me. They don't frighten me," he said.