Raju Baruah

Raju Baruah (Assamese: ৰাজু বৰৃৱা) (real name Hitesh Kalita), alias Anees Ahmed, is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, the Chief of military operations, military spokesperson and the head of the near-autonomous 'Enigma Force' of the banned outfit ULFA in Assam. When the outfit’s Commander-in-Chief Paresh Baruah was said to be critically ill, Raju Baruah was reportedly assumed to be the new military head.

ULFA’s C-in-C Paresh Baruah has reportedly been speaking to various associates about a confederal agreement with the Government of India if the outfit’s General Body approves. Raju Baruah is known to have strongly opposed talks for which a trouble has been brewing between the two. He was also believed to be publicly chastised by the C-in-C. Any decision-making power had been taken away from him and he said to be 'under treatment' - but in fact in quasi-detention - at the Mirpur Military Hospital.

In December 2000, the Assam Rifles issued a press release in Agartala claiming that Baruah was killed in a gun-battle between two fractions of the outfit in the Chittagong hill tracts in Bangladesh. The next day a person identifying himself as Paresh Baruah called up newspaper offices and broadcasting agencies from an undisclosed location and rubbished the Army’s claim and said that it was nothing but a mere propaganda of the Indian government against the outfit’s movement and nothing had happened to Raju Baruah.

On December 4, 2009, Baruah with the outfit’s chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa along with eight others, surrendered before the Indian authority near the Indo-Bangladesh border in Meghalaya. They were said to be taken into custody by the Border Security Force the moment they had crossed the border near Dawki in Meghalaya’s East Khasi Hills.

After one year of jail custody under Government of Assam, Raju Barua got bail and released on November 27, 2010. Raju Baruah, was accorded a grand welcome by hundreds of his supporters on Saturday when he came out of Guwahati jail on Saturday. Earlier, Baruah was granted bail in two Tada cases and in one CBI case. After being released from jail, Baruah left for his native place Bahjani in Nalbari district under special security cover. His family and friends came to the Guwahati central jail to welcome him. Baruah said he would be involved in solving the Ulfa problem along with others.

On December 5, 2009, Baruah along with the outfit's chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa and Rajkhowa's bodyguard Raja Baruah were produced before the chief judicial magistrate, Kamrup. He with Rajkhowa rubbished police's claim that they had surrendered. They emerged as heroes among the crowd for the denial of surrender. They got the biggest boost when public encouraged them not to surrender shouting - "Surrender nokoribo" (Do not surrender). "Moi surrender kora nai aru surrender nokoru (I have not surrendered and will never surrender)", said Baruah to the crowd.