Heerak Jyoti Mahanta


Heerak Jyoti Mahanta was the first Deputy Commander-in-Chief of ULFA. He was killed on the eve of 31 December 1991. He was said to be one of the hardcore cadre of the outfit. He strongly opposed any kind of surrendering and it never happened within the outfit till his death. After his death, a large section of second-rung leaders and members surrendered to government authorities in 1992.

The conspiracy

In the late 1990s, Mahanta became very powerful. He openly criticized the policies of the central leadership of ULFA and posed a potential threat to Paresh Baruah, the C-in-C of the outfit. Subsequently, on the direction of Paresh Baruah, his movement was passed on to the , which led to his death in a serene hillock. Most of the newspapers, however, argue that uncompromising Mahanta was killed by Army as he refused to relent even after being caught.