Prevailing justice, NIA convicts NDBF’s cadre to seven years of imprisonment in Assam 2014 tribal massacre

New Delhi, July 3: Prevailing justice to in the Sonitpur massacre, the special National Investigation Agency sentenced Khamrei Basumatary to seven years jail term for his role in the tribal massacre in 2014. Khamrei Basumatary is a member of the banned militant group the National Democratic Front of Bodoland.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in January 2016 arrested three NDFB's Songbijit faction militants namely Ajoi Basumatary, Dilip Basumatary, and Khamrei Basumatary - from Kohima in a joint operation with Nagaland police. Khamrei Basumatary was convicted in the massacre which killed almost 30 people, including women and children.

A special NIA court Wednesday sentenced an NDFB(S) cadre to seven years' imprisonment in a 2014 case of tribal massacre in Sonitpur district of Assam in which 30 people were killed.

Khamrei Basumatary was also slapped with a fine of Rs 10,000 by the court in Guwahati, they said. NIA in a statement said, “The accused was the 2nd Lieutenant of proscribed organization NDFB-S and harboured main accused, Ajoy Basumatary and Dilip Basumatary, at a house in Kohima.”

The case was registered at Bishwanath Chariali police station on December 25, 2014 and subsequently taken over by NIA. “The case pertains to the terrorist attack on December 23, 2014 by NDFB(S) cadres killing 30 persons belonging to Adivasi Community at 9 and 10 No. line of Sonajuli area under Biswanath Chariali Police Station,” it said.