NDFB chief arrested in Bangladesh, handed to India

SHILLONG - Ranjan Daimary, founder of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), has been reportedly arrested in Bangladesh and handed over to India where he is wanted for ordering bomb attacks, a police officer said Saturday.

A senior intelligence official said that Bangladesh Rifles handed over Daimary, who is also chairman of NDFB, to the Border Security Force (BSF) at Dawki in Meghalaya Friday night. The BSF then handed him over to the Assam Police.

“Yes, we have heard about Daimary being handed over to the BSF, but I have not received any official information about it,” Meghalaya Director General of Police S.B. Kakati told IANS.

Daimary alias D.R. Nabla is wanted in India for several bombings, including the October 2008 serial blasts in Assam that claimed nearly 100 lives.

Formed Oct 3, 1986, the NDFB is fighting for an independent homeland for the tribal Bodo community in western Assam. The group had entered into a ceasefire with New Delhi in 2005.

In December 2008, the outfit witnessed a split after it expelled Daimary for his role in the serial explosions.

Daimary has been in Bangladesh for close to two decades now, operating out of that country to carry out hit-and-run strikes in Assam.

Bangladesh authorities have earlier handed over leaders of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), including its chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, to India.