Heera Saraniya

Family background Saraniya’s father is dead and he is the eldest among four brothers and two sisters. Both sisters are in their twenties. The saraniyas own 15 bighas of land and are fairly well-off. They live in a typical Assamese house.

Militancy life in ULFA Despite being the son of retired Indian army personnel, Naba joined the militant outfit ULFA in mid-1980s. In his militant life he was known as Heera Sarania. Heera was trained in Myanmar and Afghanistan. Sarania was the commander of ULFA's 709 Battalion.

The Diary On 17 November 2005, 10 army personnel from the Dumuni cob (Company Operating Base) were able to recover Saraniya’s diary along with some arms, ammunitions, cash and cash-demand letter at Jala Gaon in the newly formed Baska district. The diary reveals Bhutan’s one-time collusion with the outfit and the ULFA’s deep-seated ire against India.

Arrest On 20 August 2013, Guwahati city police arrested Heera Saraniya along with 3 other persons in charge of robbery, kidnap and murder. Similarly a case has been registered against him on 9 October 2020 at Kokrajhar police station.