Alipurduar Feb. 19: Alipurduar additional superintendent of police R. Shiv Kumar said two KLO militants had surrendered to Kumargram police last night.

The militants — Lakshanath Das alias Bikram Singh of Katabari and Bolen Roy alias Ajit of Deotikhata — had never been involved in any insurgence activity but were on the “most wanted” list, Shiv Kumar added. He said the police had got valuable information from the duo.

Lakshanath and Bolen said they surrendered following chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s appeal and their differences with the KLO.

A police official said, Lakshanath was trained in the first batch at a camp, which began on April 7, 1996 in Bhutan.

The police official said in course of political classes at the camp, Lakshanath came to know others who were fighting for the cause of language and culture. They started planning insurgence activities to demand for a separate state.

This led to differences between Lakshanath and leaders of the movement but he was not able to voice his views as dissent was not allowed in the camp.

The police official further said that during his stay at the camp, Lakshanath fell seriously ill twice and was taken to Guwahati for treatment. The first time he returned to the camp. When he was taken to Guwahati for the second time in 2000, he managed to run away

During his stay at the camp, Lakshanath realised that the ULFA was using KLO militants to further its own interests. A few months ago, Lakshanath came to Krishnagar in Nadia but did not dare to return to his home in Kumargram.

The other militant, Bolen Roy, joined the KLO in 1996 and was trained in the second batch in 1998. Police said Bolen had come from the 709 camp of Kalikhola in Bhutan in the first week of January for treatment and decided not to return. At the camp he came to know that many KLO militants had been arrested or had surrendered.

According to Bolen, the news of militants getting killed in encounters with security forces created panic and KLO leaders were shifted to secret camps. But around 20 militants in the camp were in the dark about the plan of the leaders.