DIBRUGARH: n a major breakthrough, a top leader of the banned militant outfit ULFA (I), Rupam Asom, has been arrested from a forested area near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border, police said on Saturday.
Security forces also recovered arms and ammunition from his possession during the operation, which was launched on Friday night based on specific intelligence inputs.
Rupam Asom, named in the NIA charge sheet for the 2018 killing of Bordumsa Police Station officer-in-charge Bhaskar Kalita, was allegedly running ULFA (I)’s extortion network across parts of eastern Assam.
“Rupam Asom is the key figure behind extortion activities in eastern Assam. We had credible information about his presence near the interstate border. An operation was planned, and he was apprehended,” a senior police officer said.
The officer added that Rupam and his group had been operating from the jungle near the Assam-Arunachal border, using the remote terrain to evade arrest while continuing their extortion activities.
Following Rupam's arrest, a manhunt has been launched to track down other members of the banned organization hiding in the border areas.