3,000 tribal rebels to lay down arms in Assam

"Our cadres numbering about 3,000 would be surrendering all weapons before authorities on the day the Bodoland Territorial Area District (BTAD) Council comes into effect," Mainao Daimary of the Bodo Liberation Tigers (BLT) said.

The BLT entered into a ceasefire agreement with New Delhi in March 2000 and the two sides held 17 rounds of talks before a peace accord was signed in February this year.

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The pact is aimed at ending nearly two decades of Bodo militancy in Assam.

The BLT, unlike other militant groups in Assam, was not fighting for secession but a homeland for the ethnic Bodo tribe within the Indian union.

The accord paved the way for creation of BTAD, with the militant group climbing down from its earlier demand for a homeland.

The BTAD was expected to be a politico-administrative structure with more executive and legislative powers to be vested with the tribal Bodos, who number about 1.6 million out of Assam's total population of 26 million.

The Assam government has issued notifications for creating a 12-member interim council of the BTAD that is expected to come into effect this month. Dates are, however, yet to be announced.

"Our cache of weapons includes various sophisticated arms that we are going to lay down," Daimary said.

The BLT was formed in 1996 and its cadres were known for their expertise in explosives, having blown up several trains. A powerful blast triggered by the BLT in western Assam in 1999 killed 33 railway passengers.