Over 5,000 militants nabbed in Assam since 2011, only 1 convicted

Guwahati: A total of 5,202 militants have been arrested in the last 12 years from various parts of Assam, but only one of them has been convicted so far. Only about half of those arrested have been charge-sheeted so far, official records.

Experts said investigators and the legal system "are at fault", resulting in an inordinate delay at multiple stages of the justice delivery system.

The Assam Police arrested 5,202 cadres of ULFA and other extremist groups, comprising people from the Bodo, Garo, Rabha, Karbi, Adivasi, and Muslim communities, from 2011 to September 4 this year, the official documents stated.

A total of 2,606 persons have been charge-sheeted in connection with the cases to date and "most of the cases are under trial and one person has been convicted", it said.

The conviction of the lone militant took place in the Lakhimpur district in 2012. No other militant has been convicted since then.

Of the arrested people, the highest 2,392 number was from militant groups formed by Bodo people, followed by 1,468 from ULFA and 582 from Karbi groups.