Assam: IIT Guwahati employee reportedly joins ULFA-Independent

In a surprising development, a youth with a government job at IIT Guwahati, has reportedly joined the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) militant outfit. 

As per reports, Gautam Gogoi, who was working as junior technician at the IIT Guwahati, has joined the proscribed outfit. This comes as a surprise as mostly it has been alleged that jobless and misguided youths joined the ULFA-I. 

But the fact that Gautam Gogoi had a government job and was perceived to be settled, has raised questions if only unemployed youths have a tendency to join the militant outfit. Gautam hails from Amguri in Assam's Sivasagar district. 

This is the first instance of a youth joining the ULFA-I after the historic signing of a peace accord with the pro talk faction of the ULFA. The much hyped peace accord was expected to bring a halt to the series of youths joining the proscribed outfit headed by its self-styled commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. 

The police had also tightened its grip over reported cases of support to the ULFA-I among certain sections on social media with a few arrests made in this regard in recent past. The police had also taken strict action to stop youths from joining the proscribed outfit in two highly publicised encounters.

On December 24 last year, three youths were shot and injured in a firing incident by police in Tinsukia district after they were accused of planning to join the proscribed outfit. Meanwhile, an individual identified as Pranjal Das, suspected to be a member of the ULFA-I, was shot and injured by police in Kamrup Rural district of Assam on December 24. 

Meanwhile, ever since the peace accord with the pro talk faction of the ULFA has been signed, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has been making appeals to ULFA-I chief Paresh Baruah to join the peace talks and return to the mainstream.