Assam: 'Most Wanted' PLA Militant Arrested In Hojai

HOJAI: In a joint operation by Assam Police and the National Investigation Agency (NIA), a wanted militant involved in the 2021 ambush on an army convoy in Manipur was arrested in Assam's Hojai district. The militant, a member of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA), will be questioned by both the NIA and Assam Police about the attack.

On November 13, 2021, at about 11 am, an ambush happened near the Myanmar border in Manipur's Churachandpur district. Seven people were killed, including Colonel Viplab Tripathi, the commander of the 46 Assam Rifles, his wife, son, and four soldiers. They were returning from a forward camp when the ambush took place.

Reports indicate that at least 10 militants from the Manipur-based terror group were involved in the attack. In 2022, another militant from the Manipur Naga People's Front was arrested in connection with the ambush. The NIA took over the investigation at the request of the then Chief Minister of Manipur N Biren Singh.

Meanwhile, earlier last year, the Special Task Force (STF) of the Assam Police had busted a major terror network in an operation code-named Praghat, targeting fundamentalist activities of the Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), an affiliate of Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent.

The eight arrested individuals included one Bangladeshi national who had exposed a well-planned design to vitiate national security. The operation had been led by Assam STF chief Partha Sarathi Mahanta.

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