Guwahati, Dec 03: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today announced that "general amnesty" will be granted to former militants of the Bodo Liberation Tigers by withdrawing all cases pending it leaders and cadres. Gogoi told today that a decision to this effect was taken at a recent cabinet meeting to ensure the smooth setting-up of the Bodoland Territorial Council.

He said that cases against the BLT cadres will be withdrawn but the individual criminal cases against the former militants can only be withdrawn by the court.

''The general amnesty granted to the ultras by the state government will help them in settling these cases as the government will not pursue the cases in the court," he added. The BLT, the Central and the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding on February 10 which paved the way for the setting up of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC).

The interim council will be formed by the BTC on December 07 at Kokrajhar which would later hand over power to an elected council.

On December 06, BLT will be disbanded at a public functional in Kokrajhar with all former members likely to surrender their arms before the Union Minister of Home Swami Chinmayanand, Union Minister for North Eastern Affairs Dr C P Thakur, Gogoi and other senior state ministers and officials. Bureau Report