ULFA-I linkman arrested by Assam Police

Guwahati, June 28 (IANS) Assam Police on Saturday arrested one person on the charges of working as a linkman to the banned outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), officials said.

The arrested person has been identified as Shibanan Saikia.

Saikia was arrested by police from a tea factory in the Charaideo district.

A senior police official said, "We have kept a close watch on Saikia's activity. He has been working as a linkman to the militant outfit ULFA-I. We have taken him into custody in a joint operation with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). Saikia will be interrogated to unearth further links with ULFA-I."

Recently, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed a chargesheet against three individuals associated with the banned insurgent group ULFA-I for their alleged involvement in planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Guwahati during the 2024 Independence Day celebrations.

The accused -- Paresh Baruah, Abhijit Gogoi, and Jahnu Boruah -- have been charged under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, and the Explosive Substances Act.

The charges were filed on Friday after an extensive investigation into the terror plot aimed at destabilising the region and spreading panic among the public, the NIA said in a statement on Saturday.

According to the NIA, the trio was linked to an IED planted at Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati, in what was part of a larger ULFA-I conspiracy to execute multiple IED blasts across Assam.

The group aimed to disrupt Independence Day celebrations and instil fear through coordinated acts of terror.

"The trio were found linked with the IED planted by the terror outfit at Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati, Assam, as part of the ULFA (I) conspiracy to trigger multiple IED blasts across Assam, including at Dispur Last Gate, to disrupt the I-Day celebrations last year," the NIA stated.

The NIA had taken over the case in September 2024. Its investigation found that the planted IEDs were intended to cause death, injuries, and property damage, with the broader objective of threatening India's unity, integrity, security, and sovereignty.

"The IEDs had been planted to cause death/injuries to persons and/or loss/damage/destruction to property, with the intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India, and to strike terror among the people of the country," the NIA added.

Further investigations into the case are currently ongoing.

--IANS

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