GUWAHATI, Nov 24: In a major breakthrough, ULFA (Independent) self-styled Major General Arunoday Dohotia and his personal security officer, Francis Axom, surrendered early Saturday morning at Pangsau Pass along the Indo-Myanmar border.

Dohotia, a close confidant of ULFA-I chief Paresh Barua and a key figure in the group’s military hierarchy, had long been involved in disseminating the outfit’s communications — including emails and video messages of Barua — to media houses. He is also named by the National Investigation Agency as a prime conspirator in multiple grenade attacks on Army establishments in Tinsukia and Jorhat in 2023 and 2024.

Security officials described the surrender as a “major setback” for the proscribed outfit and a potentially crucial development for peace efforts in the Northeast.

However, within hours of the surrender becoming public, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma reiterated that any meaningful peace negotiations with ULFA(I) would only proceed if Paresh Barua himself joins the dialogue.

“Discussions will only be meaningful if they happen with Paresh Barua and not with anyone else from ULFA(I),” Sarma stated while speaking to reporters in Sonitpur. He clarified that the surrender, though significant, does not alter the government’s long-standing position.

Sarma also ruled out speculation about the surrendered leaders being flown to Delhi for high-level talks, stating that they may remain in Tinsukia or travel to Guwahati to meet the Director General of Police.

Despite intensified pressure and sustained outreach by the government, Barua — believed to be operating from Myanmar or China’s border regions — has remained firm on demands outside the framework of the Indian Constitution.

Security agencies hope that Dohotia’s surrender may trigger fissures within ULFA-I’s ranks and encourage more cadres to return to the mainstream, potentially reinvigorating long-stalled peace efforts in Assam.