PTI 

Guwahati, Dec 6: Produced in handcuffs, top ULFA leaders Arabinda Rajkhowa and Raju Baruah today resented their treatment by the police and vowed "never to surrender" as another leader Paresh Baruah said dialogue is possible only with sovereignty on the agenda.

Rajkhowa, Baruah and Raja Borah, who were picked up along with their family on Indo-Bangladesh border yesterday, were produced in a court to face legal process in a 1998 case and were remanded to 12 days police custody.

ULFA 'chairman' Rajkhowa and 'deputy commander-in-chief Raju Baruah were brought with handcuffs in one of the hands, connected to a police-held rope and they made no secret of their anger.

After the brief remand proceedings, both the leaders claimed they have not surrendered before the Indian authorities and that they were "betrayed" by Bangladesh.

"We have not surrendered and there can be no talks with handcuffs on. Bangladesh has betrayed us. We have to be free. We want peace, but not in this way," Rajkhowa shouted to newsmen before being taken away after production.

"We should have worn the garland of victory and come, but we had to come with handcuffs on. We have not surrendered and will never ever surrender," he said.

Paresh Baruah, who is believed to be in Myanmar and who had yesterday asked Rajkhowa not to fall into the government's trap of dialogue, today denied there was any split in the organisation he had "full confidence" in Rajkhowa.

"We are ready for dialogue provided sovereignty for Assam is discussed," he said in an email to the media from an undisclosed location fine tuning his reservation on the dialogue process.

Raju Baruah claimed that their arrest was "a deep-rooted conspiracy but it will not end our movement. It will continue".

In the court of Kamrup Chief Judicial Magistrate Robin Phukan, police asked for 14-day custody while the lawyer of the ULFA leaders opposed it. After hearing both the sides, the CJM remanded them to 12 days police custody.

The ULFA leaders were booked under the Special Operation Unit 2/98 which is a legal document that has the names of Rajkhowa, Barua and Bora and also under Section 384 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

Earlier, self-styled 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua, who is known to be against talks, said that he had "full confidence'" in Rajkhowa and the outfit was ready for a dialogue provided 'sovereignty' of Assam was discussed.

Denying that there was a split in the ULFA, he said "There is no split in the ULFA and we have full confidence on Chairman Rajkhowa. The question of difference of opinion does not arise and now it is upto the Indian government to show their sincerity by taking the process forward".

Family members of any of the leaders were not produced in the court.

Pro-ULFA slogans rent the air as total chaos prevailed outside the court premises. Slogans like "Arabinda Rajkhowa zindabad...Raju Barua zindabad...ULFA zindabad" were heard and the policemen chased aways the youths who were shouted the slogans.

The heavy traffic on the road came to a standstill as people desperately tried to have a look at the ULFA leaders.

After the production, the ULFA leaders had been taken to a guesthouse in the high-security 4th Assam Police Battalion establishment at Kahilipara.