NIA gets transit remand of ULFA-I operative in Independence Day bombing plot

Jahnu Baruah, alias Arnab Axom, a key operative of the proscribed militant group ULFA(I), was apprehended by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for his involvement in a bomb blast plot targeting Assam on Independence Day. Baruah was presented before the Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court in Dibrugarh on Tuesday, which subsequently granted his transit remand to the NIA. He was later shifted to the NIA’s Guwahati office for further investigation.  

The arrest, a result of an intelligence-led operation conducted in the early hours of Monday, was carried out by NIA teams with the support of Assam Police. A raid at Baruah’s residence in Dibrugarh yielded several incriminating materials, including digital devices, which are now under scrutiny.  

During preliminary questioning, Baruah admitted to planting four of the 11 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) that the state police had recovered on Independence Day. These devices were strategically placed at key locations across Guwahati, such as Pan Bazar, Dispur, Gandhi Mandap, and Satgaon, to execute ULFA(I)’s agenda of instilling fear and disrupting the celebrations.  

The explosive plot was part of ULFA(I)’s larger “military protest” and boycott call issued by the group’s self-styled commander-in-chief, Paresh Baruah, through a video. The video had warned of dire consequences for those defying the boycott.  

NIA’s investigation revealed that the IEDs were planted under instructions from top ULFA(I) leaders, including Aishang Asom, alias Abhijit Gogoi. Jahnu Baruah, who had been under surveillance for weeks, played a significant role in transporting and placing the explosives.  

The case, handed over to the NIA from Assam Police on September 17, is part of a broader crackdown on ULFA(I)’s subversive activities in the state. Further interrogations are expected to shed light on the militant group’s operational network and plans.