New Delhi [India], December 17 (HBTV): The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday arrested a key operative of the banned terrorist outfit, ULFA (I), for planting IEDs in Guwahati, Assam, during the 2024 Independence Day celebrations, the agency said.

According to a release, NIA teams, with the active support of Assam Police, carried out searches at the house of Jahnu Baruah alias Arnab Axom in Dibrugarh as part of an intelligence-based operation in the early hours of the morning. Several incriminating materials, including digital devices, were seized during the search of his house and are currently under examination. He was summoned to the local police establishment for further questioning.

During preliminary investigation, the accused confessed to his involvement in planting four of the 11 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that were recovered by the state police during the Independence Day celebrations. The IEDs had been planted as part of a military protest and I-Day boycott call by Paresh Baruah, SS C-in-C of ULFA(I), in a video, which warned of dire consequences for anyone disobeying the instructions. Consequently, Jahnu Baruah was arrested after following the due procedure.

Jahnu Baruah, who planted the four IEDs at Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon in Guwahati, had been under surveillance and monitoring for several weeks. He was one of several suspects identified by the NIA, based on technical and human intelligence, as being involved in the collection and transportation of the IEDs, which were planted to trigger large-scale explosions in Assam on Independence Day, causing loss of property and life, and inciting terror in the state.

The NIA had taken over the investigation of the case from the state police on September 17 and found that the IEDs were planted at the behest of Aishang Asom alias Abhijit Gogoi and other top leaders of ULFA (I).

(ANI)