I-Day 2024 IED case: NIA files charge sheets against Paresh Baruah and two others

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday filed charge sheets against three accused—ULFA (I) chief Paresh Baruah and two more ULFA members—in a case relating to the conspiracy to carry out multiple Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blasts in Assam on Independence Day 2024.

In the charge sheet pertaining to the charges against the ULFA (I), it is stated that Paresh Baruah @ Paresh Asom @ Kamruj Zaman Khan @ Nur-uz-Zaman @ Zaman Bhai @ Pradip @ Paban Baruah, Chairman and SS Commander-in-Chief of the proscribed terrorist groups ULFA (I); Abhijit Gogoi @ Abhijeet Gogoi @ Aishang Asom @ Aishang @ Aishang Axom @Rumel Asom @Dhanajoy Moran; and Jahnu Boruah @ Arnob Asom @ Huntu have been charged under various sections of BNS, UA(P) Act and The Explosives Substance Act.

The trio were found linked with the IEDs planted by the terror outfit at Dispur Last Gate, Guwahati, and other places in Assam, as part of the ULFA (I) conspiracy to trigger multiple IED blasts across Assam, including at Dispur Last Gate, aimed at disrupting the I-Day celebrations last year.

NIA, which took over the case in September 2024, found during the investigation that the IEDs had been planted to cause, like, death/injuries to persons and/or loss/damage/destruction to property, with the intent to threaten the unity, integrity, security and sovereignty of India and to strike terror among the people of the country. The NIA also stated that investigations in the case RC-03/2024/NIA-GUW are continuing.

The I-Day celebrations in Assam last year were marred by a high-level security threat after emails were sent from ULFA(I) to media outlets declaring that IEDs had been planted at 24 different locations in Guwahati and across the state. While precise locations were provided for 19 of the IEDs, the whereabouts of the remaining five were kept in the dark, throwing the security forces into a tizzy. Bomb squads were dispatched to the named locations, and an extensive operation was launched to locate and neutralise the bombs, even though the ULFA(I) claimed that they would not explode due to a ‘technical snag’. 11 IEDs were finally located by the police and other security forces from different locations, including four such devices in Guwahati itself.

NIA took over the investigation in September 2024, culminating in the charge sheets filed yesterday.

Also read: ULFA Leader Paresh Baruah’s Death Sentence Reduced to Lifer

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