Rebel-turned-Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) chief Hagrama Mohilary on Thursday sought withdrawal of all cases against members of NDFB factions who laid down their arms before Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal.

Altogether 1,615 cadres of four NDFB factions surrendered here in accordance with the recently signed Bodo Accord. The day of the surrender ceremony was selected to coincide with the death anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

“It’s important that the government considers the cases registered against these cadres who have decided to join the mainstream. I also want to assure that the authority will take necessary steps but it may take time. Even my cases were withdrawn two years after I became the BTC chief,” Mohilary said. He was the chief of Bodo Liberation Tigers before joining the mainstream in 2003.

All Bodo Students’ Union (Absu) president Pramod Boro, a signatory of the accord, said: “From today, these men will try to live dignified and normal lives. Therefore, I would like to request the state government to consider the criminal cases registered against them.”

The four NDFB factions which signed the pact are led by Ranjan Daimary, Gobinda Basumatary, Dhiren Boro and B. Saoraigwra. Of the surrendered militants, 836 are from NDFB (Progressive), 579 of NDFB (Ranjan) and 200 of NDFB (Saoraigwra). They also laid down around 178 sophisticated weapons, including AK-series, sniper, Heckler & Koch and SLR rifles, ammunition and explosives.

Welcoming the cadres, Sonowal said, “A comprehensive rehabilitation policy will be formulated for providing employment opportunities to the surrendered militants so they could make meaningful contribution to the nation-building process. I urge them to work for all-round development of BTC and Assam.”

Finance minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said all measures for the rehabilitation of the surrendered militants would be taken so they do not take up arms again. “The state government will sit with the leaders of all four factions and chalk out a proper rehabilitation scheme for the surrendered cadres,” he said. The state government would table a new Bodo-Kachari Autonomous Council bill in the next Assembly session to facilitate full autonomy to Bodos living outside the present BTC, he added.

According to the treaty, the criminal cases registered for non-heinous crimes shall be withdrawn. However, cases registered in connection with heinous crimes shall be reviewed on case-by-case basis.

Sarma said Prime Minister Narendra Modi would visit Kokrajhar on February 7 to take part in the ceremony to celebrate the signing of the peace agreement. In a series of tweets on Thursday, Modi said, “Bodo friends joining us on path of peace sends a clear message that solution to issues is possible when we leave path of violence & repose faith in democracy & Constitution. I welcome my Bodo friends to the mainstream. We are committed to ensure development of Bodo areas. The five-decade-old Bodo issue finds resolution on the Punyatithi of Pujya Bapu today.”