Drishti Rajkhowa

Drishti Rajkhowa (Assamese: দৃষ্টি ৰাজখোৱা) alias Drishti Asom, (Real name: Manoj Rabha)[3] was the Commander of the 109 battalion of ULFA until 2011, the banned outlawed group of Assam. He is said to be one of the close confidantes of the group's commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah and an RPG expert.[4] He is also a central committee member of the group.[5] In November 2011, ULFA commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah ranked up him as the Deputy commander-in-chief along with Bijay Das alias Bijay Chinese, forming a new central committee after Arabinda Rajkhowa and his followers involved with Lateral talk to GoI.[6]

Drishti Rajkhowa
Born
Manoj Rabha

Rongjuli, Goalpara, Assam, India
Other namesDrishti Asom[1]
Years active1988-2020
OrganizationUnited Liberation Front of Asom (Independent)
Parent(s)Dhaneswar Rabha, Sushuila Rabha, killed by secret killers[2]

Militancy life

Manoj Rabha joined the ULFA in 1988 and adopted the alias Drishti Rajkhowa. He was trained in Myanmar and Afghanistan-Pakistan border.[7][8]

Secret killing of family

On the night of 9 March 1999, Drishti Rakhowa's parents Dhaneswar Rabha and Sushila Rabha were killed by SULFA, behind the mask of the Secret killings of Assam. Since then, the parental home of Drishti remained 'no person land'.[9]

Surrender Rumor

Though Drishti Rajkhowa surrendered in 2020, a news portal, Times of Assam, published a report in 2016 that Drishti Rajhkhowa will leave the outfit.[10]

Surrender

On 11 November 2020, Drishti Rajkhowa surrendered in Meghalaya. The Indian Army called a media briefing about his surrender at the Army's Red Horns Division (Rangia) Auditorium on 12 November 2020.[11]

He had to surrender because of continuous Police Operations in Garo Hills. His group had a narrow escape in a Police encounter in Bolchugre village on 20/10/2020 and thereafter the group was gheraoed by Security Forces leaving no other option but to surrender. Paresh Baruah said "Fourteen days back Drishti was engaged in an encounter with security forces in Garo Hills and for seven days he was gheraoed by security forces along with other cadres. He was in constant touch with me and I told him not to take the extreme step and asked him to stop fighting knowing fully well about his wife’s health condition and the wellbeing of his two children. Surrender was the only option for him left." Baruah also said "Rajkhowa was surrounded by the security forces for about a week and that he also thought of committing suicide"[12] [13]

See also

References
  1. "Arabinda Rajkhowa & his faction to be Expelled soon – Paresh Baruah to fight long battle". Times of Assam. 14 January 2012. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  2. Talukdar, Mrinal (2009). Secret killings of Assam : the horror tales from the land of red river and blue hills (1st ed.). Guwahati: Nanda Talukdar Foundation. ISBN 9788189479510.
  3. "Who are with Paresh Baruah there in Bangladesh". Times of Assam. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  4. "Rocket lady collapses". North East Enquirer. 7–12 May 2003. Archived from the original on 4 July 2008. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  5. Anand, Manoj (29 November 2009). "Bangla promises more on Ulfa". Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2009.
  6. "ULFA Hardliner forms new Central Committee – Arabinda Rajkhowa & Raju Baruah Expelled". Times of Assam. 23 November 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2012.
  7. KALITA, JAYANTA (18 December 2020). "Opinion | Indian Militant Trained by Myanmar Rebels Gives Up the Struggle in Border Region". The Irrawaddy. The Irrawaddy. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  8. Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (30 November 2020). "Recently surrendered ULFA second in command trained in Pakistan". The Economic Times. The Economic Times. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
  9. Kaushik Deka, Mrinal Talukdar and Utpal Borpujari and (2009). Secret Killings of Assam: The Horror Tales from the Land of Red River and Blue Hills. Nanda Talukdar Foundation. pp. 141–146. ISBN 9788189479510.
  10. "ULFA[I] Deputy Chief of Staff Drishti Rajkhowa to come over ground"". 25 June 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2021.
  11. Joideep, Bora (12 November 2020). "Media briefing on Drishti Rajkhowa and others' surrender". Times of Assam.
  12. Kalita, Prabin (12 November 2020). "Drishti Rajkhowa: Ulfa (I) deputy commander-in-chief Drishti Rajkhowa surrenders in Assam". The Times of India. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  13. url=https://www.pratidintime.com/drishti-rajkhowa-surrenders-with-permission-paresh-baruah/
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