Batha's return came days after the NIA declared him "most wanted" (Representational)
Returning to the mainstream the second time, armed group leader M Batha alias Binod Mushahary on Friday said that they haven't surrendered but agreed to a ceasefire.
Batha had on Thursday returned to the mainstream along with 22 other cadres of the newly floated National Liberation Front of Bodoland (NLFB) from their hideouts in the jungles of Arunachal Pradesh.
They had laid down their arms in the presence of Assam cabinet minister Pijush Hazarika, Chief Executive Member of Bodoland Territorial Council Pramod Boro, the Assam Chief Minister's political secretary Jayanta Malla Baruah and Special DGP of Assam Police, GP Singh, at Lalpani police station.
He first came overground last year for the Bodo Peace Accord that ended the armed revolution by National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in the four districts of Bodoland -- Kokrajhar, Udalguri, Chirang and Baksa.
Batha's return came days after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) declared him "most wanted" and announced Rs 10 lakh reward for his capture.
Batha, who joined NDFB in 1996 and had become the deputy chief of the Saoraigwra Basumatary faction of the armed group, had surrendered along with Bishnu Basumatary, alias G Bidai, in January last year that led to the signing of peace accord with the Centre and Assam.
However, angry with the implementation of the accord, Batha returned to the jungle and, according to police intelligence, helped float an "armed revolution group".
"We will not surrender unless all the NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) cadres who had surrendered get employment as per the Accord and Ranjan Daimary is released from jail," he said on Friday.
Though rehabilitation of the 1,615 surrendered NDFB cadres was part of the Accord, general amnesty to Ranjan Daimary, who led one of the four NDFB factions that came to mainstream, wasn't part of it.
Daimary, who is also a signatory to the Accord is currently lodged in jail after a special NIA court found him guilty in the 2008 Guwahati serial bomb blasts in which over 100 people died.
Batha, who was wanted in the massacre of 80 Adivasis in 2014, has been welcomed by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
"Further peace dawns in BTR with the homecoming of NFLB top cadres to mainstream. A great leap forward towards a peaceful Assam. Sharing live visuals of the event. Grateful to Adarniya Griha Mantri Shri @AmitShah-ji for his constant guidance and support," Mr Sarma tweeted.