NIA Gets Transit Remand of ULFA(I) Cadre in I-Day Bombing Plot

Jahnu Baruah, alias Arnab Axom, a key ULFA(I) operative arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with the Independence Day bomb blast plot across Assam was on Tuesday presented before the Dibrugarh Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court.

After the court granted his transit remand, the NIA brought him to its Guwahati office.

The arrest was made following an intelligence-driven operation conducted in the early hours of Monday by NIA teams, with 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 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 September 17.

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.

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