ULFA(I) leader Paresh Barua gives interview despite being on the run

What may be shocking to most people is that Paresh Barua who has been in the wind for a very long time and who the Indian intelligence is trying to catch gave an interview recently. Barua, the self styled commander-in -chief of the militant outfit ULFA(I) recently gave an interview to a Guwahati based satellite news channel called Newslive.

Here, he addressed India's efforts in giving financial aid to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Myanmar. He urged the people of Assam to understand that financial aid from India is aimed to stop ULFA and the government should actually be spending the aid on the Assamese people.

He has eluded the Indian government and intelligence agencies for so long but yet he has a clear handle on all diplomatic relations that India has with its neighbours. With India's relationship getting better with most of the neighbouring countries, this is seen as threatening to the rebel leader who sees he's a wanted man in almost every country around this region.

The interview according to the news channel was taken in Hkamti in Myanmar but Intelligence agencies suspect it was actually filmed on Chinese soil. The government should look into how a very random news channel managed to get an interview with somebody who the Indian government have found so elusive to nab.

Barua has been on the run since 2012 ever since a Bangladesh courts awarded him with the death penalty in a case relating to an arms haul case. All of India's neighbouring countries are one by one taking on ULFA and flushing them out of their countries which is of great help to India. India is still trying to ascertain his whereabouts and rumours are afloat that Barua might be back in the country. He claims to be fighting for a sovereign Assam.

To whom he is addressing in the interview is unknown, maybe he is addressing his followers but it's safe to assume his address remains un-relatable to a majority of the Assamese people.

By Jessica Passah