Guwahati, May 31: In a major breakthrough, the Khonsa-based Assam Rifles along with Tirap police apprehended two United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) rebels from the India-Myanmar border near Noglo village of Tirap district in Arunachal Pradesh on Monday, official sources said on Tuesday.
According to unconfirmed reports, the apprehended cadres have been identified as self-styled corporal Surjit Gogoi and self-styled corporal Shyamol Baruah.
“Both these cadres had infiltrated from the ULFA (I) camp located in Myanmar towards Indian Territory when they were apprehended by the joint team,” an official statement said.
“The apprehended cadres are being handed over to police for further interrogation,” the statement said.
“The development is a huge blow to ULFA (I) and a major achievement of the security forces that were able to timely discern their movement and apprehend the duo,” it said.
It may be noted that Tirap-Changlang-Longding (TCL) region of Arunachal Pradesh is an insurgency-affected region even as several successful operations carried out by Assam Rifles and Arunachal Pradesh Police with the support of local population have led to a steep downfall of insurgent activities in the TCL region.
Only two weeks back, six hardcore insurgents, three each of NSCN (IM) and Eastern Naga National Government (ENNG), surrendered before a team of Assam Rifles and Arunachal Pradesh Police along with ammunition.
Earlier, in a joint operation on March 2 this year, Assam police and troopers of Assam Rifles nabbed two ULFA-I cadres at Nampong in Changlang district.
During his visit to Tirap on April 11 this year, Arunachal Pradesh chief minister Pema Khandu emphasised the need for rebels to shun insurgency and join the mainstream in accordance with the Underground Surrender Policy under Government Reforms and Prudent Financial Management.
Earlier, more than 60 key insurgent leaders and cadres from the TCL region have joined the mainstream.