Guwahati, Dec 21: A suspected over ground worker (OWG) of proscribed militant outfit, United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), was injured in an encounter between security personnel and suspected cadres of the outfit inside a thick forest in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district early morning on Wednesday, official sources said.
The ‘linkman’, identified as Amit Mukhiya (29), sustained a leg injury during the firing and was admitted to a hospital for treatment. His condition is stated to be out of danger.
The incident took place at Upper Dihing Reserve Forest under Pengeree police station when Mukhiya had led a joint team of police and army personnel to a location inside the thick forest where he claimed that the outfit’s cadres were hiding.
Speaking to mediapersons later, Tinsukia superintendent of police Abhijit Gurav informed that the injured OWG was one among the four suspected ULFA-I linkmen who were arrested from inside the forest during a joint search operation on Tuesday night.
“They admitted during interrogation that they were overground workers of the militant outfit and were providing food to the cadres of the outfit hiding inside the forest,” Gurav said.
Thereafter, based on the information given by them, another search operation was launched in the wee hours of Wednesday in the Upper Dihing Reserve Forest.
During the operation, an Assam Police search party came under ineffective fire (a few rounds by small weapons). But swift retaliation, during which around 15 to 20 rounds were fired by the police team, resulted in the militants trying to break contact, sources said.
The police official further informed that a few days back, five over ground workers of ULFA-I, “who were supplying food to some cadres were arrested. A grenade, wire and some substance used for making explosives were recovered.”
The entire area in the jungle has been cordoned off and combing operations launched to nab the ULFA-I cadres,” the Tinsukia SP said.
ULFA-I denial
However, ULFA-I has denied the claims by the security forces. In a statement issued by the rebel outfit’s media department, the outfit termed the news of the clash between the security forces and the outfit (being circulated in a section of media) as “completely baseless”.
“No ULFA-I cadre was taking shelter in the area. Assam Police and the security forces are trying to create confusion among the people by carrying out the incident in a pre-planned manner and putting the blame on ULFA-I,” it claimed in the statement.