Guwahati: The proscribed ULFA (United Liberation Front of Asom) has threatened Bhutan with sleepless nights for flushing out the Northeast-based insurgents from the Himalayan kingdom even as its ideologue Bhimkanta Buragohain, remanded to police custody, accused both the Bhutan and Indian Army of "torturing" him.

In an e-mail to the local media last night (Jan 4, 2004), ULFA chairman Arabinda Rajkhowa accused the Bhutan Prime Minister of "lying" at the 12th SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation) Summit yesterday about the Army operations, and threatened that the Kingdom would not be able to "sleep peacefully" after souring its relations with its "neighbours".

Rajkhowa rejected Bhutan Premier Lyonpo Jigmi Thinley's statement in Islamabad that the Army operations had to be launched on December 15 against the ULFA, NDFB (National Democratic Front of Bodoland) and KLO (Kamtapur Liberation Army) to flush them out following a painstakingly long and frustrating dialogue with them for six years.

He warned the kingdom would not be able to "sleep peacefully" following the "irritating relations" between Bhutan Government and the rebels resulting from the Royal Bhutan Army offensives amidst negotiations between the two parties.

Accusing Bhutan of "betraying" the three separatist groups, the ULFA supremo asserted that "it will be very childish for Bhutan to imagine it will have a sound sleep when the neighbours burn in the fire of conflicts".

Meanwhile, ULFA founder member Buragohain alias "mama", who had surrendered to the RBA, was remanded to eight days police custody by Kamrup Sub-divisional Judicial Magistrate.

At the court yesterday he alleged before reporters that he was "tortured" by both the RBA and Indian Army.