Guwahati: Following thorough investigations, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has chargesheeted six individuals, including four absconders, for various criminal offences in connection with a terror attack on an Army camp by ULFA (I) in Assam.
The Myanmar-based United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA-I), a banned terrorist outfit, orchestrated the attack. On the evening of November 22, 2023, two motorcycle-borne youths lobbed grenades at the Army camp in Kakopathar, Tinsukia district. Fortunately, no one was injured. This assault was part of a larger conspiracy to target Army personnel across the state with grenade attacks.
In its chargesheet filed before the NIA Special Court in Guwahati, the agency named Paresh Baruah, the self-styled chief of the banned organization, along with SS Brigadier Arunudoy Dohutia, SS 2nd Lt Saurav Asom, SS Captain Abhijit Gogoi (alias Aisheng Asom), and two others identified as Parag Borah and Bijoy Moran, as the key conspirators and executors of the attack. Parag and Bijoy were arrested in early December 2023 from Tinsukia district, while the other accused remain at large.
The chargesheet, exposing the deep-rooted conspiracy planned by ULFA (I) leaders across the international border, invokes sections of the IPC, UA(P) Act, and Explosives Substances Act. Investigations have revealed a terror network involving recruitment, training camps, and execution of terrorist attacks as part of the group’s separatist agenda.
The NIA’s probe, which commenced after taking over the case from Assam Police, revealed that Paresh Baruah (alias Paresh Asom) and Arunudoy Dohutia (alias Arunodoi Asom) masterminded the plot. They directed Suresh Gogoi (alias Saurav Asom) and another cadre to carry out multiple attacks on Army camps in Assam. Abhijeet Gogoi (alias Kanak Gogoi) coordinated the planning, preparation, and execution of the attack, conspiring with Bijoy Moran (an Over Ground Worker of ULFA-I) to recruit local youths for the operation.
The investigation also found that ULFA (I) used social media platforms to recruit vulnerable youths, training them for terrorist activities in alignment with their extremist and separatist ideology. The NIA continues to identify other conspirators and associates involved in the attack, aiming to dismantle the entire terror network.