Lagatar24 Desk
Diphu, June 2: Around 40 cadres of a tribal militant group Adivasi People’s Liberation Army (APLA), including its “commander-in-chief,” surrendered to the authorities in Assam’s Karbi Anglong district on Friday, a top police official said.
At the surrender ceremony held on the premises of the Bokakhat police station, he said that they turned over a sizable cache of weapons and ammunition, including advanced firearms and grenades.
“Total of 39 cadres of the Adivasi People’s Liberation Army (APLA) surrendered today. This has been possible due to the joint efforts of the Assam Police and Assam Rifles,” inspector general of police (IGP), central range, Devojyoti Mukherjee said.
Another official reported that the militants who surrendered gave over 31 weapons, including three AK series rifles, 19 pistols, five other rifles, two grenades, and assorted live ammunition.
“The cadres realized that it is futile to pursue terrorist activities and have decided to re-join the mainstream. They had deposited several arms and ammunition, including sophisticated weapons, pistols and grenades,” Mukherjee said.
Sahil Munda, the leader of the APLA, who led his cadres in the surrender ceremony, stated that his organisation was founded as an Adivasi National Liberation Army breakaway faction in 2019 with roughly 125 members.
“We moved away from ANLA for personal reasons. After seeing the development taking place in the state under the Himanta Biswa Sarma-led government and how problems of the Adivasi community are being addressed, we have decided to return to the mainstream,” Munda said. About 40 members of the group still have not surrendered, whereas several are imprisoned.
