Imphal, Feb 3 (IANS) The Union government has issued a show-cause notice to the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), along with all its factions, wings, and front organisations, calling upon the outfit to explain why it shouldn’t be declared once again an unlawful association for a period of another five years, officials said on Monday.
The MHA has served the show-cause notice under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
Through the show-cause notice, ULFA has been called upon to explain in writing within 30 days of the service of the show-cause notice why it shouldn’t be adjudicated for declaring it as an unlawful association.
An Assam government statement said that the ULFA has also been asked to appear, either through a duly authorised representative or an instructed counsel/advocate, before the tribunal on March 4, 2025, in the Court of Gauhati High Court (old block).
Nearly 40 years since its formation, the ULFA disbanded itself in January last year.
The outfit on December 29, 2023, entered a settlement with the Union government.
The ULFA suffered a split after several top leaders under its Chairman, Arbinda Rajkhowa, following their arrest in Bangladesh decided to join peace parleys.
Those refusing the peace process rechristened themselves as ULFA (independent).
The Paresh Baruah-led ULFA faction is a banned organisation and manifested itself with a new name in 2012.
According to media reports, the High Court in Bangladesh in December last year granted a big relief to the ULFA-I’s self-exiled supremo Paresh Baruah, commuting his death penalty to life imprisonment.
The High Court judgment was given in the reported ‘ten trucks arms haul’ case of 2004.
The ULFA-I Chief had earlier been sentenced to death in 2014, when Bangladesh led by the then Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina had been cracking down against extremism and militancy across the country.
–IANS
sc/khz
