City police arrests four suspected ULFA-I, NSCN linkmen for extortion across state

Guwahati, May 1: The Guwahati Police have arrested four individuals allegedly linked to proscribed insurgent outfits—United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) and the National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN)—for their suspected involvement in extortion activities across Assam.

Three of the accused—identified as Y. Nemkha Konyak, Yaman Konyak, and S. Hangmei Konyak—were apprehended from the Assam–Meghalaya border on Tuesday. The fourth, Sanjay Barman, was arrested from Baksa district on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the City Police Crime Branch, the arrests were made following intelligence inputs about cadres, over ground workers, and linkmen of Northeast-based insurgent groups operating in and around Guwahati.

The police claim the suspects were in direct contact with ULFA-I and NSCN factions and had been issuing extortion demands to businessmen in various parts of the state.

"A case has been registered at the Crime Branch Police Station. The three arrested from the border region were produced in court and remanded to three-day police custody," the police statement read.

The trio from Mon district, Nagaland, has been booked under several provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including sections 61(2), 147, and 308(2), in connection with Crime Branch case number 2/2024.

Barman, on the other hand, is likely to be presented before the Crime Branch shortly.

This is not the first instance of linkmen of banned outfits being apprehended in the state.

In February this year, two NSCN operatives—Morom Ali (40) and Sanju Das (25)—were arrested in Assam’s Charaideo district during a police raid in the Namtola area.

The duo was also accused of extorting money from local businessmen over a prolonged period.