Mrinal Hazarika
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Mrinal Hazarika | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | Plaban Phukan |
| Predecessor | Tapan Baruah |
| Successor | Prabal Neog |
| Criminal status | Announced ceasefire |
| Criminal charge | Terrorism |
Mrinal Hazarika (Assamese: মৃনাল হাজৰিকা) alias Plaban Phukan [1] is the ex-commander of the 28th Battalion of ULFA, the banned revolutionary organisation of Assam.[2][3] He was instrumental in leading the ‘A’ and ‘C’ companies of the battalion to announce a ceasefire.
He was arrested in 2005 from a hotel in Siliguri. He is said to have assured the police top brass of his ability to win over his former colleagues. The Assam Police played a pro-active role in releasing him on bail so that he could negotiate with the fence-sitting ULFA cadres.[2] On Saturday 21 June 2008 he walked out of prison on bail from Dibrugarh Central Jail.[2][3]
Announcement of ceasefire
Within three days of his release, Hazarika was able to secure a ceasefire declaration by the ‘A’ and ‘C’ company of the battalion and announced ceasefire on 24 June 2008. Loyal lieutenants of the outfit remained crucial to the top down chain of command. Commanders like Charan Majhi, Debojit Konwar, Palashmoni Rajbonshi, Ulum Bhuyan and Amar Tanti were already eliminated by security forces in separate encounters. Other leaders like Prabal Neog and Dibakar Moran, were arrested, and Ghanakanta Bora surrendered. Under these circumstances, despite the fact that Hazarika had been in jail since 2005, it was not a difficult task for him to convince and win over the surviving low level commanders. However, Bijoy Chinese, a close confidant of Paresh Baruah and Sujit Moran, the ‘B’ company commander, distanced themselves from the pro-ceasefire group.[2]
