Banned ULFA(I) outfit announces three-month ceasefire due to COVID-19
What's the story
The banned United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) on Saturday announced a unilateral ceasefire for three months due to the prevailing COVID-19 situation in the state. ULFA(I) Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah in a statement e-mailed to the media said that the ceasefire will come into effect immediately and the outfit will refrain from any operations during this three-month period.
Caseload
Assam's current caseload is 3.15 lakh, 42,144 active cases
"We have taken a decision to suspend all operations for the next three months as the people are facing immense difficulties and suffering due to the pandemic", he said. Fuelled by the second wave, Assam currently has a caseload of 3.15 lakh. A total of 1,984 people have died of COVID-19. The state has 42,144 active cases at present.
Grenade blast
Barua denied the outfit's involvement in the Tingrai grenade blast
Baruah denied the outfit's involvement in the grenade blast at Tingrai on Friday which claimed the lives of one person and injured two others. "It is unfortunate that during such difficult times faced by the people in the state, a section of security forces are trying to malign the outfit," he alleged.
Appeal
Assam CM appealed to Baruah for peace talks
To recall, one person was killed and two others injured when two motorcycle-borne persons lobbed a grenade in front of a hardware store on Friday at Tingrai under Digboi police station of Tinsukia district. After being sworn in, the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma had appealed to Baruah to come forward for peace talks.
Kidnapping
ULFA(I) militants had kidnapped ONGC employees earlier this year
Three employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were on April 21 kidnapped by suspected ULFA(I) militants from its Lakwa oilfield in Assam's Sivasagar district along the Assam-Nagaland border. Two were freed later, while one is still missing. Before this, the insurgent group had kidnapped two employees of a Delhi-based oil exploration firm but released both of them later.