NIA Arrests Key ULFA(I) Operative for Role in Guwahati IED Plots

In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Monday apprehended a key operative of the banned terrorist group ULFA (I), Jahnu Baruah, also known as Arnab Axom, for his involvement in planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Guwahati during the 2024 Independence Day celebrations.

The arrest was made following an intelligence-driven operation conducted in the early hours of Monday by NIA teams, with active assistance from Assam Police. The operation targeted Baruah’s residence in Dibrugarh, where several incriminating materials, including digital devices, were seized and are currently under examination.

During preliminary questioning, Baruah confessed to planting four of the 11 IEDs recovered by state police on Independence Day. The IEDs were strategically placed at high-profile locations across Guwahati, including Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon. These bombings were part of ULFA(I)’s broader military protest and call to boycott the I-Day celebrations, as issued by Paresh Baruah, the outfit's SS C-in-C, in a video. The video had warned of severe consequences for any defiance of their orders.

Baruah, who had been under surveillance for several weeks, was linked to the transportation and placement of the IEDs, which were designed to cause widespread destruction and terror on the occasion of Independence Day. His arrest follows a thorough investigation led by the NIA, which took over the case from the Assam Police on 17th September.

NIA’s investigation revealed that the IEDs were planted under the direction of top ULFA(I) leaders, including Aishang Asom, also known as Abhijit Gogoi. 

The explosive devices were intended to cause massive damage to property and loss of life, furthering the group’s agenda of instilling fear and instability in the state.