Guwahati: As many as 1179 militants of Bru Liberation Army Union (BLAU) and the United Democratic Liberation Army (UDLA) formally surrendered and laid down arms in a ceremony held in Hailakandi district of Assam on Monday.
The two Reang rebel factions were active in southern Assam’s Cachar, Karimganj, and Hailakandi districts.
1179 members of the two insurgent groups solemnly surrendered on the playground of Charlmers Memorial Higher Secondary School in Katlicherra.
Assembly Speaker Biswajit Daimary and Minister Pijush Hazarika were present on the occasion.
A total of 335 rifles and 382 rounds of ammunition were also surrendered in by the militants at the ceremony.
The Hailakandi, Cachar, and Karimganj district superintendents of police have been asked to exhibit the insurgents’ surrendered weapons during the ceremony.
The Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF), the state governments of Mizoram and Tripura, and the Union government had achieved an understanding in 2018 about the repatriation of Bru families and had started talks with the groups to return to the mainstream.
The Assam-Mizoram border saw activity from both terrorist organisations in the 1990s, particularly in the Hailakandi district, according to the authorities. They were accused of participating in extortion, kidnapping, and other illicit acts, as well as the murder of BJP leader Pratul Deb, who had retired and returned to India from London.