ULFA-I bomb-planting: Police nab 15 suspects, including 3 women, from across state
AT Photo: Assam Police trying to recover the bombs
Guwahati, Sept 22: The Assam Police have arrested 15 individuals, including three women, in connection with a bomb-planting orchestrated by the proscribed United Liberation Front of Asom – Independent (ULFA-I), on Saturday.
The arrests were made across the state with the assistance of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Reportedly, the operation followed extensive intelligence gathering conducted jointly by the state police and the NIA, leading to coordinated raids in various districts.
“Incriminating facts have been uncovered following the preliminary interrogation of the apprehended persons. We expect to gather more information about the conspiracy through further questioning in the coming days,” the Assam Police stated in a statement.
The arrests were made in several locations, with one suspect each apprehended from Tinsukia, Sadiya, Nagaon, Nalbari, and Tamulpur. Additionally, two suspects were arrested in Jorhat and Guwahati, while three each were taken into custody in Dibrugarh and Lakhimpur.
Earlier this month, the Guwahati Crime Branch detained two suspects linked to the ULFA-I bombings in the city, specifically from the Azara area.
This recent wave of arrests follows a previous apprehension by Jorhat police, who arrested Manab Kalita from Titabor. Kalita, a resident of Kaki in Hojai, allegedly confessed to planting bombs at four locations in Guwahati on Independence Day.
On August 15, ULFA-I claimed responsibility for planting bombs at over 20 locations across Assam, including eight spots in Guwahati.
In response, law enforcement quickly recovered Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs)-like from four locations in the city - Gandhi Basti, Panbazar, Narengi, and Lastgate. Similar devices were also discovered in Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Nalbari, and Nagaon districts.
In light of the escalating threat, the Director General of Police (DGP) formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the bombings and announced a reward of ₹5 lakh for information leading to further arrests.
