3 Tinsukia youths held over bid to join Ulfa-I

Dibrugarh: Lekhapani police in Tinsukia district on Friday arrested three persons who were allegedly in the process of joining the banned insurgent outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I), dismantling a fresh recruitment module of the organisation.Ulfa-I chief Paresh Baruah told TOI over the phone, “As long as Ulfa-I is there, people will come to join. This is not a big issue. Until there is a solution, people will continue to join us.”The arrested individuals have been identified as Antu Moran (34) of No 2 Tekeri Gaon, Bijoy Moran (28) of No 2 Naloni Gaon and Newton Moran (22) of No 2 Tekeri Gaon — all from Tinsukia district.Tinsukia additional superintendent of police (headquarters) Mrinmoy Das confirmed the arrests and said investigation was ongoing. “Ulfa-I has been actively trying to recruit manpower and engage in extortion activities in the border district of Tinsukia,” Das said, adding that police were probing the full chain of the recruitment network behind the latest bid.The arrests come amid growing concern over Ulfa-I’s persistent attempts to replenish its cadre strength by targeting young men from remote villages of upper Assam. Tinsukia district is widely regarded as a hotbed of Ulfa-I activity, and its shared boundary with Arunachal Pradesh makes it relatively easy for the insurgent group to facilitate movement of recruits toward Myanmar, where the outfit maintains camps. Security agencies and intelligence sources have long flagged Ulfa-I’s calculated strategy of zeroing in on marginalised, remote communities. With the urban middle class growing increasingly sceptical of the outfit’s methods, ULFA-I shifted its focus toward remote villages and predominantly backward areas of marginalised indigenous communities for recruitment. Unemployed youth of upper Assam have been the primary targets of Ulfa-I’s recruitment drives, with the outfit also reportedly reviving extortion activities in areas such as the Jagun region of Tinsukia district, discreetly targeting businessmen for ransom. Officials said that despite sustained pressure from security forces, Ulfa-I continues to exploit the socio-economic vulnerabilities of rural youth in upper Assam’s border districts. Authorities have urged villagers to report suspicious overtures and remain vigilant against recruitment bids by the banned outfit.