ULFA Leaders Among 38 Acquitted in 35-Year-Old TADA Case

In a significant judgment, the special TADA (Terrorist and Disruptive Activities Prevention Act) court in Guwahati on Wednesday pronounced its verdict in Case No. 43/2001, acquitting 38 individuals after a trial that stretched for more than two decades.

The case was first registered suo moto by Dispur Police Station in 1991 under Case No. 1/1991 on charges of creating terror, extortion, and other unlawful activities. It was later shifted to the TADA court in 2001, where trial proceedings continued for nearly 25 years.

Altogether, 45 persons were named as accused in the case. Of them, three—including ULFA-I commander-in-chief Paresh Barua—remain absconding, while four others passed away during the course of the trial, leading to the withdrawal of their names.

The remaining 38 accused, including several pro-talk ULFA leaders such as Anup Chetia, Pradip Gogoi, Arabinda Rajkhowa, Munin Nobis, Kalpajyoti Neog, Raju Baruah, Sashadhar Choudhury, Sunil Nath, and Anadar Thakuria, were acquitted by the court today.

The charges had been filed under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UAPA] Section 10(30), along with Sections 3 and 4 of TADA, in addition to multiple sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

With today’s ruling, the curtain has finally fallen on one of Assam’s longest-running terror-related cases—35 years after its registration and 25 years after the trial first began.

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