GUWAHATI: Ahead of Bhogali Bihu and Republic Day, Assam Police have busted a recruitment module and an extortion racket, suspected to have been operated by the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent), and arrested seven persons associated with the proscribed outfit.
Three persons were arrested from Darrang district, two from Udalguri district and two from Guwahati in Kamrup (Metro district).
“The arrests have been made during the course of a week-long operation from December 30. Khanindra Kalita alias Jyotish (29) was the first to be arrested in Darrang district, and thereafter, two of his associates, Hiren Kalita (35) and Dharmendra Deka (26), were caught,” Darrang superintendent of police, Amrit Bhuyan informed.
Based on the interrogation of the three recruiters, two more persons, Bolen Deka and Dhrubajyoti Baishya, were arrested from Udalguri district, the police official said.
“On further interrogation, another two, Prasanna Saikia (pro-talks ULFA) and Ashim Adhikary were arrested in Guwahati,” Bhuyan said.
The SP said that the modus operandi of the arrested persons was to lure youths from economically disadvantaged sections to join the banned outfit and thereafter send them to the outfit’s training camps in Myanmar
Police have gathered vital information from the arrested persons who confessed to have carried out their recruitment and extortion activities for about three months now.
Sources said the arrested ULFA members were in constant communication with senior leaders of the outfit in Myanmar during the recruitment process.
“The breakthrough is significant on two counts. Firstly, many youths have been prevented from taking the insurgency route and spoiling their careers. Secondly, the busting of the extortion racket comes as a relief for businessmen, most of whom were harassed and served extortion letters by the outfit,” he said.
