Haflong August 3-In a grand finale to another glorious chapter in the quest for peace in Dima Hasao district; the Surrender Ceremony of the Dimasa National Democratic Front (DNDF) took place at Haflong today. A total of 19 cadres of the group surrendered to Maj Gen Binoy Poonnen, VSM, General Officer Commanding of the Red Shield Division, Brig Ashim Kohli, Brigade Commander at Haflong, Sri K. Chawdhury, ADC and Mr VK Ramisetti, IPS, SP of Dima Hasao District, along with 17 weapons and a large quantity of ammunition. The cadres included Boibodro Batari @ SS Lt Camera Dimasa and Samarjit Hasnu @ SS Lt Layung Dimasa and weapons included AK-series automatic rifles, M-16 rifles, US-make carbines, pistols and revolvers. These cadres had all surrendered to Army & Police authorities between Feb and Apr 2011 and their surrender has now been formally accepted by the State Government as part of its efforts to tackle insurgency in the state.
Formed in August 2010, the group came into the limelight with the kidnapping of Dr Naiding from Haflong in Oct 2010 and again of three employees of Indian Oil Tanking in Dec 2010. Intensified operations by Army and Police led to the release of the employees. This was followed by disarray in the cadres due to busting of camps with precision by the Army in the jungles of Langting-Mupa Forest & villages near the inter-state boundary with Nagaland. The top cadres were unable to sustain the pressure, leading to the surrender of three DNDF cadres, including their Chairman Aidoh Dimasa, at DC office Haflong on 09 Feb 2011.
In order to pacify the unrest and meet his cadres, the C-in-C of DNDF, Bihari Dimasa came into Dima Hasao district, leading to his elimination in a joint operation on 15 Feb 2011 at Tereh Basti, near Dihangi. The group soon disintegrated due to the synergy of intelligence and operations between Army and Assam Police. Effective psychological pressure from their families and friends, who were convinced about the futility of the group's chosen path and the advantages of returning to the mainstream, was a major factor in convincing the cadres to return to the path of peace. The cadres started suing for surrender and came out of jungles in groups, in March and April this year. All the cadres surrendered to the forces with weapons and ammunition.
The well coordinated and persistent operations carried out by the Army and Police resulted in one of the largest surrender of a group of armed cadres in a record time frame of just three months. This has also led to the recovery of a large number of arms & ammunition including foreign-made weapons, which could have unleashed a wave of terror in the
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