By A Staff Reporter

GUWAHATI, June 24 – Adivasi Cobra Force (ACF), a militant group operating from different hideouts in Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon districts has now intensified its activities. According to official sources, the militant group has collected a huge fund from the people in these two districts during the past couple of months to gear up the organisation. Sources further said though the militant group is still in nascent stage, its leadership is trying to recruit new cadres to expand the organisation. “There are 9 militant groups belonging to the Adivasi community, of which ACF has become active in the two districts of Lower Assam”, sources added. Throwing more light on the militant group, they revealed that the Cobra Force is now maintaining good relations with the Kamatapur Liberation Organisation (KLO), which has helped it set up new camps along the border in Bhutan. “About 20-odd members of the ACF are undergoing training under the leadership of Durga Minz, who is the commander of the outfit”, sources said and added that most of the outfit’s funds have been spent on procuring armed training in Bhutan. On the strength of the outfit, they informed that according to reports, it has 10 to 15 trained cadres at present, who are engaged in fund collection and expanding the organisation. “ACF has very limited weapons, but it is trying to procure weapons from a militant group of Bihar”, sources said, adding that the outfit is now concentrating on the tea gardens of the State for “symphatetic fund collection” and recruiting new cadres.

It may be mentioned here that ACF was constituted a few years back in Kokrajhar district with an aim to protect the Adivasi people living in Lower Assam districts by way of an armed revolution. Since then, the leadership of the outfit has been carrying out extortions and killings in Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar districts. Sources further disclosed that the militants are operating from border areas of Kokrajhar district in which they have set up camps. “They, however, are frequently changing their camps due to intense pressure from the security forces,” sources said. In this context, they informed that the security forces had busted a small camp of the outfit last year along the border of Kokrajhar district. The militant group is still in the nascent stage for which its area of operation is confined to some areas of Lower Assam districts”, they added. Sources also expressed the view that the leadership of militant group would try to establish a strong base in Bhutan to procure arms and ammunition with the help of the banned ULFA.