The Centre is likely to sign the tripartite "Karbi Peace Accord" on Saturday in New Delhi and it is expected to be signed in the presence of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and the representatives of Karbi outfits.
According to reports, the accord is expected to be signed at the North Block office of the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) at 4 PM.
The accord will be signed with three units of Karbi Longri NC Hills Liberation Front (KLNLF), United Peoples Liberation Army (UPLA), Karbi People's Liberation Tiger (KPLT) and People's Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK).
The accord is significant as the insurgency by Karbi — a major ethnic community of Assam — groups, dotted by several factions and splinters, has had a long history in Assam, marked by killings, ethnic violence, abductions and taxation since the late 1980s.
It is learnt that nearly 200 Karbi militants, who were part of those 1,040 militants surrendered before the Assam government on February 25 this year, will be present during the signing of the agreement, said sources.
These surrendered militants are learnt to have arrived in Delhi and are staying at different hotels.
A total of 1,040 militants of five insurgent groups of Karbi Anglong district ceremonially laid down arms at an event in Guwahati on February 25 in the presence of the former Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, a development which further bolsters the 'terrorism-free Assam' image of the current BJP-led government.
Among the surrendered militants was Ingti Kathar Songbijit, a primary accused in multiple cases of militancy and ethnic violence in the state.
The militants submitted a total of 338 weapons, including 8 light machine guns with 11,203 bullets, 11 M-16 rifles and 58 AK-47 rifles.
The militants of the five organisations had come to surrender their weapons after a year when the BJP signed the Bodo Peace Accord to end the long-run violence in Bodoland.
