Heera Saraniya

Naba Kumar Saraniya alias Heera Saraniya, also spelled as Heera Sarania and Hira Sarania, alias Naba Deka (born 1 May 1969) is an Indian politician who was serving as the Member of parliament, Lok Sabha representing the Kokrajhar constituency in Assam from 2014 to 2019 as an Independent Candidate and since 2019 as a member of Gana Suraksha Party.^[2][3] He won by the highest margin ever recorded in polls in Assam and as an independent candidate in the history of Lok Sabha elections.^[1] He is also the founder and president of Gana Suraksha Party since 2019.^[4] Earlier, Saraniya was the commander of the 709 battalion of ULFA. He was said to be one of the most dreaded militants in Assam.^[5][6]

Naba Kumar Saraniya
Saraniya in 2019
Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha
In office 16 May 2014 – 4 June 2024
Preceded by	Sansuma Khunggur Bwiswmuthiary
Succeeded by	Joyanta Basumatary
Constituency	Kokrajhar
Founder and President of Gana Suraksha Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 5 August 2019
Succeeded by	Position established
Personal details
Born	1 May 1969 Dighalipaar, Baksa, Assam
Political party	Independent Gana Suraksha Party
Spouse	Smti Barnali Baishya[1]
Children	Sristisikha Saraniya[1]
Occupation	Politician
Source:

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.^[7]

Militancy life in ULFA

Despite being the son of retired Indian army personnel, Naba joined the militant outfit ULFA in mid-1980s.^[8][9] 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.^[10]

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.^[11] The diary reveals Bhutan’s one-time collusion with the outfit and the ULFA’s deep-seated ire against India.^[7] Journalist Teresa Rehman claimed that she got the diary of Heera Sarania.^[12]

Arrest

On 20 August 2013, Guwahati city police arrested Heera Saraniya along with 3 other persons in charge of robbery, kidnap and murder.^[13] Similarly a case has been registered against him on 9 Oct., 2020 at Kokrajhar police station. ^[14]

See also

• Tapan Baruah
• Bijoy Chinese
• List of top leaders of ULFA
• Sanjukta Mukti Fouj

References

1. "Dreaded Militant turns Member of Parliament with Historical Record win". Times of Assam. 18 May 2014. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
2. CORRESPONDENT, SPECIAL (18 May 2014). "Kokrajhar elects a non-Bodo for first time". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
3. Sethi, Aman (16 May 2014). "In Assam, a thumping victory means more uncertainty". Business Standard India. Business Standard. Archived from the original on 21 May 2014. Retrieved 18 May 2014.
4. Gana Suraksha Party
5. "MP Naba Kumar Sarania detained ahead of BTC Phase-II election". Inside NE. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.
6. "Cops work on Ulfa 709 unit & leader". Telegraph India. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 22 May 2023.
7. Rehman, Teresa (27 January 2007). "Seek Revenge". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 18 April 2010. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
8. Mahanta, Nani Gopal (2013). Confronting the state : ULFA's quest for sovereignty. New Delhi: SAGE Publications. p. 211. ISBN 978-81-321-1327-0.
9. Hazarika, Sanjoy; Raghavan, V. R. (2013). Conflicts in the Northeast : internal and external effects. New Delhi: Vij Books India. p. 45. ISBN 978-93-82573-48-7.
10. "Outlook". Outlook. 48 (44–46): 36. OCLC 760174985.
11. "How the Army got the diary". Tehelka. 17 November 2005. Archived from the original on 19 September 2012. Retrieved 17 December 2009.
12. Rehman, Teresa (2019). Bulletproof : A Journalist's Notebook on Reporting Conflict. [Gurgaon, Haryana, India]: Penguin Random House India Private Limited. ISBN 978-93-5305-565-3.
13. "Pro-Talk ULFA Leader Heera Saraniya arrested for Kidnap, murder & robbery". Times of Assam. 21 August 2012. Archived from the original on 22 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
14. "MP Naba Kumar Sarania detained ahead of BTC Phase-II election". Inside NE. 9 December 2020. Archived from the original on 9 December 2020. Retrieved 9 December 2020.