Guwahati, Feb 16 (PTI) Altogether 52 cadres, including four women, of Dimasa National Liberation Army (DNLA) deposited their arms in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district and came overground on Wednesday, a police official said.
Additional Director General of Police (Special Branch) Hiren Chandra Nath said the programme took place at the existing DNLA designated camp at Dhansiri in the district.
“In total, 52 cadres came overground and they include four women. This culminates in the mainstreaming of the DNLA. These cadres could not come earlier as they were holed up in very interior locations of Nagaland,” Nath told PTI.
In the presence of the Karbi Anglong superintendent of police, the cadres deposited one carbine, one pump action gun, two .22 rifles, one .303 rifle, a hand grenade, two .32 pistols, he said.
The DNLA was formed in early 2019 with an aim to establish a sovereign nation for the people belonging to the Dimasa tribe. It declared a unilateral ceasefire for three months on September 7 as a ‘goodwill gesture and as a positive response to the call of peace’ by the chief minister.
Dimasa people live mainly in Assam and Nagaland.
In the last year, 113 DNLA cadres had laid down their arms. Altogether 165 militants belonging to the organisation have come overground so far.
Its members were suspected to have been involved in killing five drivers of coal-carrying trucks in Dima Hasao district on August 27 last year after they purportedly failed to pay money demanded by the outfit.
DNLA chairman Edika Diphusa alias Kharmindao Dimasa, his deputy Juddychan Haflongbar and general secretary Prithamjit Jidongsa had come overground on September 24.