| Paresh Baruah | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 1, 1957 Jeraichakali Bhariagaon, Chabua, Dibrugarh, Assam, India |
| Alias(es) | Paban Baruah Pradip Kamruj Zaman Khan |
| Charge(s) | Revolution against Indian colonialism |
| Status | Wanted |
| Parents | Dwijen Baruah (Father) Miliki Baruah (Mother) |
Paresh Barua (or Paresh Baruah) is a rebel leader, born in 1957 at Jeraichakali Bhariagaon, Assam, India. He is the Acting Vice Chairman and Commander-in-Chief of the rebel group ULFA.
He worked in railway from 1978 to 1982, and for Oil India Limited at Duliajan for some time. In 1989 he came in contact with Nagaland Rebels and Kachin rebels based in Myanmar, who provided strategic training to his group.
Before joining ULFA, Paresh was a soccer player, who played for Dibrugarh district, and for the Dibrugarh University. Eventually he becoming the most dependable full-back of the Dibrugarh Railway team. Today he is the Chief of the armed wing of ULFA.
Paresh Barua lived in Bangladesh since 1990s till 2009 using alias Kamruj Zaman Khan.
Around 2008, he was in constant communications with Assamese author Indira Goswami who was acting as a mediator in a proposed peace talk between ULFA and Government of India. However, the talks did not materialise because of the alleged insistence of Baruah on the question of sovereignty of Assam.
The peace talks resumed by the second half of 2010 when the majority of the ULFA leadership, including the outfits Chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa were caught by the Bangladeh security forces and handed over them to India. However, Paresh Baruah managed to escape and presently, he is said to be living in Yunan, a border district of China near Myanmar. Baruah has since been taking a hard stance on the issue of peace talks and rules out any negotiations with Government of India without addressing the question of independence for Assam. On 19 January 2011, he created a sensation in the local media by publishing a group photo of him along with 100 armed cadres with full camouflage uniform. This is the first photograph of Baruah since early 1990s.