Who Is Paresh Baruah and Why Is He Back in the Spotlight?

New Delhi: Paresh Baruah is the chief of Assam's militant organization ULFA (Independent). They have been a headache for India's security agencies for a long time. ULFA was formed with the demand to make Assam a separate country. Later the organization divided into two parts. One group chose the path of talks with the government, while the other group still talks about fighting with the help of weapons. Paresh Barua is the face of the same group.

Distance from dialogue, reliance on violence

When a section of ULFA came forward for a peace agreement, Paresh Baruah flatly refused it. He believed that Assam's demands would not be fulfilled through talks. For this reason, even today he stays away from any initiative of the government and considers himself the commander of ULFA-I.

Where is Paresh Barua hiding?

Paresh Baruah is said to have been out of India for the last several years. Security agencies believe that they are living around the China-Myanmar border. From time to time, news of his changing locations also keeps coming to the fore. Earlier, talks about his contact with Pakistan's intelligence agency ISI have also been raised, although these claims were never officially confirmed.

Old case related to Bangladesh

Paresh Barua's name also came up in the 2004 Chittagong arms smuggling case. At that time a huge quantity of weapons was seized in Bangladesh. In this case, he was sentenced to death by the court there, which was later changed to life imprisonment. For this reason, Bangladesh has already been a sensitive place for them.

Why talk about Pakistan's new move?

Recently some reports claimed that Pakistan wants Paresh Barua to be shifted from China to Dhaka. It is being said that the motive behind this could be to spread unrest again in Northeast India. However, there are different opinions regarding these claims, and many experts consider them to be exaggerated.

Why worry about Northeast India?

Northeast India is already a sensitive area. If any militant leader tries to run the network from outside, it may worsen the situation. This is the reason why security agencies do not take such news lightly, even if it is not completely proven.

Now things are not like before

Experts say that the situation is no longer the same as before. Surveillance on the borders is tight, and local conditions have also changed. Despite this, whenever names like Paresh Barua come into discussion, the vigilance of security agencies increases.