Assam: 15 held for planting IED-like objects on Independence Day

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In a significant breakthrough in the ongoing probe of incidents of planting of suspected Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) like objects in various parts of Assam during this year's Independence Day celebration, police arrested 15 people across the state, officials said on Sunday.

A senior police official said that the raids were done after getting vital intelligence inputs from Assam Police in coordination with the National Investigation Agency (NIA). During the course of the investigation of the attempted sabotage activity, specific intelligence inputs were collected from different sources, he said.

"After initial interrogations of the apprehended persons, vital facts have been collected and more crucial information about the conspiracy is expected to be known after prolonged interrogation of the detainees, in due course of time," the official said. On Saturday one person each was apprehended in Tinsukia, Sadiya, Nagaon, Nalbari and Tamulpur, three each in Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, and two each in Jorhat, Guwahati. Out of the 15 arrested persons three are women.

The Police official said that interrogation of the arrested persons would continue to collect more clues to unearth the larger conspiracy. The anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), which is also known as ULFA (Independent), has remained elusive to the peace process. On August 15 the ULFA-I militants led by Paresh Baruah planted several IED-like objects but these did not explode. The ULFA-I has earlier claimed to have planted bombs in 24 locations of Assam as a mark of protest against the Independence Day celebrations.

A list of the targeted areas and pictures of certain bomb sites, including one close to the state secretariat in Dispur in Guwahati, was also published by ULFA-I. The places include Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Sivasagar, Nagaon and a few places in Guwahati as well. It is learned that ULFA-I placed bombs in at least eight spots in Guwahati city. The outlawed group in a statement had said that due to some technical errors, the bombs did not explode.

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