Our Correspondent
TINSUKIA: In an intensified operation launched jointly by the police and the Army, the seven ULFA (I) militants who surrendered before Tinsukia Police on Monday along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition were paraded before media persons in a press meet on Tuesday at the office of the Superintendent of Police, Tinsukia. The press meet was addressed jointly by Deepak Kedia, IGP (Law and Order), and SS Karti, Commandant of 21 Para Command, in presence of Tinsukia Superintendent of Police, Siladitya Chetia and other Army and police officials.
Elaborating the operation, they said that they had intelligence input that some militants had abandoned the Myanmar camp and were trying to sneak into Assam during the first week of March. The security forces comprising of State Police and 19 column of Army from 21 Para Command, 23 Punjab Regiment and 210 Cobra, launched a joint offensive on March 7 and confined the militants at Tarani Reserve Forest under Digboi Forest Division and made them surrender without a single fire being shot. Though the media persons were debarred from interacting with the surrendered militants, a police official said that these militants were engaged as manual labour and had been forced to cook and do farming. Disgruntled by the oppressing attitude of the higher-ups, they fled the camp with arms and ammunition. There are many more trained militants waiting to join the mainstream soon, said the source.
The surrendered militants are SS Sgt Brindaban Moran (34) alias Barun Asom of Bordumsa, Manjit Moran (29) alias Basanta Asom of Tarani Gaon Pengeree, Dhaneswar Moran (31) alias Sajjon Asom of Pengeree, Lobhit Gohain (26) alias Utpal Asom of Pengeree, Sanjit Moran (25) alias Shekharjyoti Asom of Bordumsa, Satrubon Dohutia (27) alias Ninja Asom of Kakopathar and Diganta Moran (29) alias Amar Asom of Pengeree.
The ammunition recovered are three AK-81/ MQ 7.62 rifles with six magazines, two HK 33/5.56 MM rifles with six magazines, one AK-56/7.62 MM rifle with five magazines, besides ammunition and a hand grenade. All the cadres had joined the ULFA in 2011 except Diganta Moran who joined in 2012.
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