In a significant breakthrough, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Thursday arrested a suspected militant linked to the banned United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) on the outskirts of Bengaluru.
The individual, identified as Girish Bora, was residing with his family in the Jigani Industrial Area near Anekal, a suburb of Karnataka's capital. Acting on a tip-off, an NIA team dispatched from Assam conducted a raid, leading to his arrest.
Girish Bora is accused of planting Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) at multiple locations in Guwahati before fleeing the city. Following his escape, he relocated his family to Bengaluru and assumed a new identity, working as a security guard under the alias Gowtham. He reportedly managed to generate fake documents to support his assumed identity.
The NIA is expected to present Girish Bora also known as Gowtham before a local court in Bengaluru before transferring him to Assam for further investigation.
The arrest has prompted Bengaluru authorities to heighten security measures across the city. Intelligence agencies have been instructed to closely monitor the activities of suspicious individuals and wanted persons in the region.
This arrest comes on the heels of several high-profile cases, including the NIA’s recent crackdown on a key accused in the Tamil Nadu Hizb-ut-Tahrir case at Bengaluru's Kempegowda International Airport.
The NIA also successfully resolved the Bengaluru Cafe Blast case earlier this year.
On March 1, an IED stored inside a bag exploded at the Rameshwaram Café in Whitefield, an IT hub in Bengaluru.