A deserted road during the bandh on Sunday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati/Silchar, July 4: Dima Hasao slipped back into an unnerving disquiet after the arrest of Dima Halam Daogah (Jewel) commander-in-chief Niranjan Hojai from Nepal last Friday, while Dispur prepared to answer some uncomfortable questions.

The first sign of Dima Hasao’s unrest was evident from the “paralysing” indefinite bandh called by the outfit from today, seeking the release of Hojai and its chairman Jewel Gorlosa arrested last year.

Hojai is a key accused in the case of autonomous council funds being siphoned off to the DHD (J), which the National Investigation is probing.

The district was just beginning to taste peace after a long reign of terror unleashed by the outfit, when today’s bandh signalled fresh trouble.

Some of the DHD (J) cadres even set on fire the gate of the Jatinga designated camp in protest against the arrest while some left the camp to take shelter in a Dima Hasao Autonomous Council guest house nearby this evening. The outfit surrendered under Hojai on October 2 last year.

The arrest, a source said, would also raise uncomfortable questions for Dispur, already facing a torrid time over the alleged Rs 1,000-crore financial scam in the district.

The government will have some explaining to do on the Hojai front.

For one, how did Hojai manage to give the state security personnel the slip to land in Nepal and then fly to Singapore, soon after he was charge-sheeted by the NIA?

Secondly, Dispur’s sincerity in resolving militancy has already come under the scanner, indicated by the strong reaction of Dethang Naiding, the president of the Jadikhe Naisho Hoshom, the apex Dimasa body, to Hojai’s arrest.

Naiding said the law would take its course in the Hojai case. “But we want to know how did he escape in the first place? Secondly, what is the state government doing to resolve the militancy issue? Restive DHD (J) cadres have called an indefinite bandh, the staff of the council have gone without salary for over six months, the condition of the roads in the district is pitiable. The district has been completely ignored”.

“Having helped bring the DHD (J) to the mainstream with help of others, we are now facing threats for nothing happening on the peace front. The cadres have made it clear that talks will be incomplete without their leadership. We will not be responsible for any untoward incident that might take place because of recent developments,” Naiding said.

An NIA official today said Hojai had rented a flat in Singapore’s Woodlands residential enclave, where he was always being watched.

He said Hojai flew back to Nepal last week, and NIA, in close collaboration with the Nepal police, picked him up on Friday and whisked him off to Raxaul in Bihar.