Assam rebel NDFB chief held, handed over to India

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Assam separatist leader Ranjan Daimary and his two comrades arrested from elsewhere were handed over to Indian border security force (BSF) at Dawki, opposite Tamabil border Saturday, said reports reaching from across the border.
A BDR 21 Battalion official stationed in Jaintapur of Tamabil border however pleaded ignorance about it. Second-in-command of the battalion Maj Abdullah Al Mamoon told UNB that they are neither aware of the arrest of Ranjan, chief of National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB), and his associates nor about their handing over to the BSF.
But an Indo-Asian News Service (IANS) report from Guwahati said Bangladesh authorities early Saturday handed over Ranjan Daimary, chief of the outlawed NDFB to BSF at Dawki.
The report said Ranjan was arrested on April 17 in Jhenigati town of Sherpur district and held in custody before being handed over to Indian authorities.
The arrest was made following a tip-off about Ranjan's presence in Jhenigati by the Indian military intelligence to the detective branch of Bangladesh police in early April.
Indian military intelligence officials gave specific information about Ranjan's son, who is a student at a school in Dhaka. It is through him and subsequent telephone intercepts between the NDFB chairman and his wife that led to the arrest.
Police pleaded ignorance about it. "We are not aware of anything about it," IGP Noor Mohammad told UNB Sunday.
Ranjan is the fifth top separatist leader of Assam handed over to India. ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa, deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah, foreign secretary Sasha Choudhury and finance secretary Chitraban Hazarika along with their family members were handed over to India in February last.
Formed in 1986, the NDFB is a rebel group fighting for an independent homeland for the Bodo tribes people in Assam.
In 2005, a faction of the NDFB led by its general secretary Gobinda Basumatary entered into a ceasefire with New Delhi, but Ranjan preferred to continue his armed struggle.