Militants of the Ulfa and NDFB at the surrender ceremony at Tamulpur in Nalbari district on Saturday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Jan. 31: The curtain came down on the Assam government’s amnesty offer to rebels with a large number of militants surrendering to the army today.

The state government’s general amnesty offer to rebels, proposed after the Bhutan operation, expires tonight.

As many as 156 militants belonging to the Ulfa and the NDFB laid down arms at Tamulpur in Nalbari district in presence of the Four Corps general-officer-commanding Lt Gen. Anup Singh Jamwal today.

“The general amnesty has paid dividends as militants of both the groups have come forward in large numbers to join the mainstream. The militants, disillusioned with the misplaced ideology, have enabled the army to recover huge arms and ammunition caches,” Jamwal told reporters.

Many senior functionaries of both the outfits have surrendered.

He said the “synergy between the state police, central police organisations, army and state administration was instrumental in creating right circumstances to persuade the militants to return home”.

The Royal Bhutan Army had launched “Operation All Clear” in December last year to flush out militants from their hideouts in the Himalayan kingdom.

Chief of army staff Gen. N.C. Vij said here recently that 650 militants had been either killed or captured during the offensive.

The number includes 145 militants who have been handed over to the army by Bhutan.

Gen. Vij said 1,200 to 1,500 militants belonging to the Ulfa, the NDFB and the KLO had taken shelter in Bhutan.

Five women cadres were among the 156 who laid down arms at the “rehabilitation ceremony” today.

The militants surrendered 56 assorted weapons, including pistols, revolvers, AK series rifles, .303 rifles, sniper rifles, Chinese assault rifles, 12-bore guns, Universal machine guns, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and explosives.

Jamwal complimented the parents of the former militants for “motivating their sons and wards to surrender”.

The army has been running a number of rehabilitation camps to train surrendered militants.

In addition to free food and lodging, a stipend of Rs 2,000 per month is paid to them for one year during the training at the rehabilitation centres, he said.

Mobiles reach Aizawl

Mizoram governor A.R Kohli today inaugurated the BSNL’s cellular phone services at the Raj Bhavan in the state capital, reports our Aizawl correspondent.

The governor said the number of mobile connections, which at present stands at 8,300, will increase to 15,000 by April next year.

Chief general manager, Telecom North East Circle, I.R. Purushothaman, said other towns would be connected gradually.

The BSNL will accept applications for mobile connections from February 7. A lottery system will be used if there is an overflow of applications.