ULFA(I) leader & main suspect of Bordumsa OC murder arrested in Tinsukia
Rupam Asom, operating along Assam-Arunachal border, was also involved in extortion of money
Margherita, May 24: A leader of the ULFA(I), Rupam Asom, was arrested by the police in Tinsukia on Saturday.
The ULFA(I) leader was operating along Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border and involved in extortion of money, according to Tinsukia Superintendent of Police Abhijit Gourab Dilip.
“We had been keeping a track on Rupam Asom and receiving information. His movement was traced along the Assam-Arunachal border particularly in areas such as Namsai, Lohit, and Changlang districts of Arunachal; and around Margherita in Assam where he was involved in extortion of money,” the SP told the press on Saturday.
The SP added that an operation was launched under Assam Police, Arunachal Pradesh Police, and the armed forces.
“Districts such as Sadiya and Tinsukia were also involved in the operation,” he said.
The SP added that arms and other materials were recovered from Rupam.
Highlighting that the operation is ongoing, the SP said, “There are a number of other people in the gang against whom the police have launched operations.”
Rupam was named in the charge sheet of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for the killing of Bodumsa Police Station officer-in-charge Bhaskar Kalita in 2018.
“The self-styled brigadier and official commander of ULFA(I) was involved in a number of criminal activities, attacks on civilians, police, and the army; ambushing other security forces, and in the murder of OC Bhaskar Kalita,” the SP said.
According to reports, it also alleged that Rupam was operating the proscribed outfit’s extortion racket in various parts of Assam.
Earlier, in December, a key operative of the ULFA(I) Jahnu Barua, alias Arnab Axom, was arrested by the NIA with the assistance of Assam Police for allegedly planting IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in various parts of Guwahati on Independence Day.
The agency had said the accused confessed to planting IEDs at Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon in Guwahati.
The NIA said it seized several incriminating materials, including digital devices, during the search, which are currently under examination.
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.