NATIONAL SANTHALI LIBERATION ARMY (NSLA)

NATIONAL SANTHALI LIBERATION ARMY (NSLA)

Formed in 2005, the NSLA is a splinter group of five militant outfits, which claim to be fighting for the cause of the Adivasis. The groups are – Adivasi People's Army (APA), Adivasi Cobra Militants of Assam (ACMA), Birsa Commando Force (BCF), Santhali Tiger Force (STF), and All Adivasi National Liberation Army (AANLA). The new outfit was formed after the five militant outfits surrendered their arms and ammunition on 24 January 2012 at Guwahati paving the way for peace talks. The other four outfits who surrendered were Hmar Peoples Convention (Democratic), Kuki Liberation Army (KLA), Kuki Revolutionary Army (KRA) and United Kuki Defence Army (UKDA). The group is influential among the plantation workers in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Udalguri districts of the BTAD. The outfit’s chairman is Efril Murmu and its vice-chairman is Lakhiram Murmu. Deepak Hembrum is the deputy commander-in-chief of NSLA. The militant group is also active in West Bengal’s Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar districts, which share a border with Assam.

The militants are involved in extortion and kidnapping on both the sides of the border. NSLA militants are active in areas like Gosaingaon sub-division of Kokrajhar district. They are carrying out subversive activities like kidnapping, extortion and killings. The NSLA cadres have links with Maoists in Jharkhand and some of their cadres are trained in the red zone. On 31 March 2014, unidentified gunmen shot dead the self-styled commander-in-chief of Santhali Tiger Force Shivlal Murmu at Padumpukhuri under Gossaigaon Police station. On 2 April 2014, the Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathi told The Hindu that the State government had received feelers from the NSLA that it was willing to join the peace process with other outfits by surrendering their arms.