NIA gets 4 -day custody of Bodo militants

IANS GUWAHATI, JANUARY 17 Three top Bodo militants, who were arrested from Nagaland capital Kohima, were Saturday produced in a court which sent them to four-day custody of the National Investigation Agency (NIA). The NIA is probing the Dec 23 massacre in three districts of Assam -- Kokrajhar, Chirang and Sonitpur -- that left over 75 people dead and displaced over two lakh people.Although the NIA sought 10-day custody, the special NIA court granted only four days for the three National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants -- Ajoi Basumatary alias B. Buhum (32), Dilip Basumatary alias Bir Baisa alias Lambu (40) and Khamrei Basumatary alias Udla (35). They were arrested Wednesday in Kohima by a team of the i nvestigating agency and Nagaland Police. While Ajoi Basumatary is a 'commander' of the outfit's 3rd battalion, Dilip Basumatary is the 'forest secretary', and Khamrei Basumatary is the 'deputy commander' of the outfit's 14th battalion. It was under Ajoi Basumatary's direction and leadership that the recent killing of at least 36 people took place in Sonitpur district. Khamrei Basumatary was one of the militants involved in the killings in Kokrajhar district the same day. Dilip Basumatary was responsible for coordinating the NDFB's activities in reserved forest areas of Assam along the international border with Bhutan and along the inter-state border with Arunachal Pradesh.