Guwahati, Apr 23 (IANS): Five hardcore militants of anti-talks faction of ULFA (Independent) have been arrested and a huge cache of arms and ammunition were seized from their possession in eastern Assam, police said on Thursday.
In a separate development, a Defence spokesman said that the troops of Indian Army in a joint operation with Assam police busted a recruitment racket of ULFA (I) and rescued seven minors, nabbed four militants and six 'over ground' workers from six districts of eastern Assam on April 21-22.
According to an official of Assam police, based on secret information, led by Charaideo District Superintendent of Police Anand Mishra, a joint Operation was launched by Police and an Army unit from Sapekhati on Wednesday evening. Five hardcore cadres of ULFA (I) have been apprehended from the house of one Bhuvan Gogoi, police said.
The police said that before the arrest of the terrorists, the police and the Army troopers had cordoned the Tairai village along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh-Nagaland border areas. The owner of the house, where the militants had taken shelter, was also arrested.
The five militants were unarmed when apprehended, but following their lead the security forces recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition dumped near the house of Gogoi on Thursday morning.
The arms and ammunition include three assault rifles along with eight magazines and 323 rounds of ammunition, a Russian-made 7.65 mm pistol with one magazine and two bullets, a 0.22 mm pistol with one magazine and two bullets, two kg of a "gelatin-like" explosives material, seven pieces of cordtex wire (detonating cord) and 16 pieces of detonators.
The arrests of the ULFA (I) guerillas come ahead of Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal's scheduled visit to the district on Thursday.
The arrested rebels include militants Apurba Gogoi alias Arohan Asom, Simanta Gogoi alias Maina Biraj Asom alias Yogen Gogoi, all are self-styled major and were wanted in connection with cases of killing, kidnapping and extortion, police said.
The police said all the six arrested persons, including houseowner Bhuvan Gogoi would be tested for COVID-19.
The ULFA (Independent) is currently led by its 'Chairman' Abhijit Barman and Paresh Baruah, who is the 'vice-chairman' and also 'commander-in-chief'.
According to intelligence officials, the ULFA (Independent) continues to maintain linkages with most other militant outfits of the northeastern region with which the undivided ULFA had established its relations.
Meanwhile, a Defence statement said that in a major breakthrough, the troops of Indian Army in a joint operation with Assam police busted a recruitment racket of ULFA (Independent) and rescued seven minors from six districts of Upper Assam on April 21-22.
The release said that acting on a specific intelligence input, the joint teams launched a well-coordinated and intensive operation spread over Golaghat, Jorhat, Sivasagar, Charaideo, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts of eastern Assam and apprehended four cadres and six over ground workers belonging to the proscribed group.
"The apprehended persons are actively involved in the recruitment racket. The rescued youths belonging to well-to-do families were influenced and lured into joining the insurgent group through social media and online propaganda videos," the Defence release said.
After the detention, the rescued minor recruits were counselled and reunited with their parents.