NIA arrests key Ulfa-I operative for planting IEDs in Guwahati on Independence Day

GUWAHATI: NIA, with the assistance of Assam Police, on Tuesday arrested a key operative of the banned terrorist outfit, United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I), for allegedly planting IEDs in Guwahati on the last Independence Day. The agency said the accused confessed to planting IEDs at Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon in Guwahati. The joint team of NIA and police carried out searches at the house of Jahnu Baruah, alias Arnab Axom, in Dibrugarh in an intelligence-based operation conducted early Tuesday morning. The NIA said it seized several incriminating materials, including digital devices, during the search, which are currently under examination. During the preliminary investigation, the accused confessed to his involvement in planting four of the 11 improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that were recovered by the police on the Independence Day. The IEDs were planted as part of a military protest and I-Day boycott call by Ulfa-I chief Paresh Baruah in a video, which warned of dire consequences for anyone disobeying the instructions. Consequently, Jahnu Baruah was arrested following due procedure.The NIA said the accused, who planted the four IEDs at Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon in Guwahati, was under surveillance and monitoring for several weeks. "He was one of several suspects identified by the NIA, based on technical and human intelligence, as being involved in the collection and transportation of the IEDs that were planted to trigger large-scale explosions in Assam on Independence Day, causing loss of property and life and inciting terror in the state," the agency said. The NIA took over the investigation of the recovery of IED-like devices from the police on Sept 17 and found that the IEDs were planted at the behest of Aishang Asom, alias Abhijit Gogoi, and other top leaders of Ulfa-I. The banned outfit released a statement on the Independence Day revealing the locations where they claimed to have planted the bombs and said they did not explode due to technical issues. They mentioned that the blasts were scheduled to take place between 6 am and noon on Thursday, but after the failure in execution, they sought public cooperation for defusing the explosive devices.