Drishti Rajkhowa sidelined by ULFA top leadership, under pressure to surrender Staff Correspondent Shillong: With the annihilation of the once dreaded Garo National Liberation Army (gnla), the proscribed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has lost its Garo Hills corridor connecting Bangladesh. The ULFA under Drishti Rajkhowa and the then gnla chief Sohan D Shira worked in tandem in facilitating movement of cadres and weapons through this corridor. But the movement of the two outfits through the Garo Hills corridor is a thing of the past. This was confirmed by a reliable source to The Sentinel even as he added that intelligence inputs suggested that self-styled deputy commander in chief of the ULFA Drishti Rajkhowa has been sidelined by the top leadership of the outfit. “Garo Hills and its adjacent region bordering Assam were not only corridors for the militants but were also sources for extortion from the coal trade”, stated the source who is well versed with the States of Assam and Meghalaya. The source also referred on how the NGT ban on coal mining in Meghalaya has hit the ULFA in the Kamrup and Goalpara stretch of the inter-state boundary. It is being learnt that the ULFAs movement and its unwanted indulgence has hit a near zero in the region after a conduit was arrested by the Meghalaya Police last year. Going by the source, Rajkhowa who along with his cadres aided the gnla in the reign of terror, is an isolated and marginalized figure. “What we came to know is that he is well within the Assam-Meghalaya boundary region and is functioning with a group of criminals”, stated the source even as he added that after being sidelined by the ULFA leadership, he is also under pressure to surrender. The source also revealed that a surrendered gnla militant Philiport Marak was caught in an illegal coal deal recently. This is not for the first time that a surrendered militant was found dealing in illegal activities. However, the source said that they are monitoring these surrendered cadres. Also Watch: ATDC Chairman Jayanta Malla Baruah attends BJPs organizational meeting ahead BTAD elections

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