ULFA-I Cadre Held In Assam's Tinsukia After Grenade Blast

In the wake of a minor grenade explosion in Assam's Tinsukia, an active cadre of the proscribed armed rebel group United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) was detained, reports emerged on Thursday.

Initial reports stated that an active ULFA-I cadre, identified as Achyutanand Neog alias Niloy Asom was detained by the police. Officials informed that he was behind planning of the explosion.

Moreover, Niloy Asom along with his wife had joined the banned insurgent group in 2022. His wife is still in the ULFA-I camp, added the officials.

The arrest comes after Assam DGP GP Singh had promised strict action in the aftermath of the explosion. The director general of Assam Police said that it was a "strange coincidence" that at a time when the state government and police force were taking revitalized in the APSC scam.

Preliminary reports indicated that the grenade blast took place at an army camp at Kopahtoli in the Dirak village which falls under the Kakopathar tehsil in Assam's Tinsukia district.

According to the information received, two bike borne miscreants arrived and hurled the grenade at the army camp while celebrations on the occasion of ULFA-I protest day were underway.

A loud explosion followed the grenade blast which fortunately did not injure any security personnel. A team of top officials of Tinsukia Police arrived at the scene after the explosion.

In a post on X, the Assam DGP wrote, "It is a strange coincidence that the day Assam Government and @assampolice starts taking revitalised action on APSC Scam, there is a minor blast by miscreants in Tinsukia district of Assam. This looks like an attempt to draw attention of senior leadership of police away from APSC Scam investigation."

"Such miscreants and organisations would always try to stifle efforts to improve Assam. We would identify and punish perpetrators of this, and all such attempts that are made to divert our attention from improve our state. We remain committed to reach the bottom of the scam and punish all who are involved in it," added GP Singh.