Ram Sing after his arrest in Sivasagar on Wednesday with weapons seized from him. Eastern Projections

Dibrugarh/Guwahati, Nov. 19: An Ulfa leader, one of the outfit’s most wanted, was arrested last night from a relative’s house while trying to snatch a few moments with his wife and infant son.

The arrest of “sergeant major” Ram Sing, the second-in-command of the B company of the group’s 28 battalion, is being touted as the biggest success security forces have pulled off since the ceasefire with the battalion’s A and C companies in June.

Sing, alias Mintu Borgohain, joined the outfit in 1987 and has been the man behind Ulfa’s extortion drive in Sivasagar district since 2005.

Sources said a joint team from police and the army’s Moran-based 318 Field Regiment raided Bakhar Bengana, a village in Sivasagar, 363km from Guwahati, late last night following information about the militant’s presence.

The 45-year-old Ulfa leader had come down from a camp in Nagaland to see his month-and-a-half-old baby he had not had the chance to hold since its birth.

The security forces let his wife Junti and the baby go before searching the Ulfa leader for arms. An M-20 pistol, 10 rounds of ammunition and three mobile phones were found on him.

The security forces also found a marriage certificate issued by the Ulfa leadership.

“Sing has direct links with top leaders of the outfit,” Sivasagar police chief Shyamal Saikia said.

The arrested militant today told reporters in Moran, upper Assam, that the B (Bravo) company had extended moral support to the “ceasefire group” but had opted out at the last moment as the leadership was against the unilateral truce.

“After the ceasefire was declared by the A (Alpha) and C (Charlie) companies, our leadership dismantled the 28 battalion. Now only the Bravo company cadres of this battalion are operating, with its headquarters in Myanmar and an advanced headquarters at Mon in Nagaland,” Sing said.

Jiten Dutta, a leader of the pro-peace group played down the “arrest”.

“Ram Sing had no option but to come overground since he was ill and was desperate to meet his wife and son. He was in touch with the army for over a month,” he said.

Sing said he and Mrinal Hazarika, a senior leader of the pro-peace group, had met the GOC of 2 Mountain Division, Maj. Gen. Jatinder Singh, in April at the army base in Dinjan, Tinsukia. “The army had assured us of safe passage and we came to Dinjan to discuss the ceasefire,” he said.

Hazarika was in jail at that time.

Defence public relations officer Col. Rajesh Kalia could not confirm the meeting as the GOC is out of station.

Dutta said it was a matter of time before the leadership of the B company followed the A and C companies. “The commander of the company, Sujit Mohan, will come overground very soon,” he said.