Arms seized in Namsai operation based on intel from arrested ULFA-I leader
The recovery was made based on inputs provided by Rupam Asom, a self-styled brigadier of ULFA(I) who was arrested on May 24
A still of the recovered MQ rifle, three magazines, and 120 rounds of ammunition. (AT Photo)
Margherita, May 25: The security forces, on Sunday, recovered a cache of arms and ammunition from a border area near Namsai, along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border.
The joint operation was carried out by Assam Police, the 23 Assam Rifles, and Military Intelligence (Kolkata).
The seized items include one MQ rifle, three magazines, and 120 rounds of ammunition. The cache is suspected to have been hidden by the proscribed militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), or ULFA(I).
According to the security forces, the recovery was made based on inputs provided by Rupam Asom, a self-styled brigadier of ULFA(I) who was arrested by Tinsukia police on May 24.
"Based on information revealed by SS Brig Rupam Asom, Assam Police, 23 AR and Military Intelligence, Kolkata, questioned Biju Asom on May 24 and obtained details about the MQ rifle and ammunition," said an official statement from the armed forces.
Biju Asom, a surrendered cadre of the outfit, further corroborated the information, leading the security forces to the cache of arms.
Officials added that Biju had earlier escaped with the MQ rifle from Rupam’s group in Namsai on March 22 and subsequently surrendered before the Superintendent of Police in Sivasagar.
Tinsukia SP Abhijit Gourab Dilip said that Rupam was actively operating along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and was involved in extortion activities in the region.
“We had been tracking his movements in areas including Namsai, Lohit, and Changlang districts,” the SP said.
Rupam Asom had also been named in the National Investigation Agency (NIA) charge sheet for his involvement in the 2018 killing of Bhaskar Kalita, the officer-in-charge of Bodumsa Police Station.
SP Dilip confirmed that the operation is ongoing. “There are other members of the group still at large, and operations are underway to trace them,” he said.