Dibrugarh, Jan. 15: Chief minister Tarun Gogoi has wrested the reins of the Unified Command for counter-insurgency operations in Assam from the bureaucracy.

“The entire Unified Command structure will henceforth be directly under me…I will be presiding over all meetings of the command,” he said in Dibrugarh today.

The chief secretary was the head of the three-tier Unified Command — comprising the army, police and paramilitary forces — until the last meeting of the strategy group.

Gogoi’s decision to take control comes in the aftermath of a bloody Ulfa campaign against Hindi-speaking people. He has copped much of the blame for the law and order deficiencies that have allowed Ulfa to not only regroup but also mount attack after attack on soft targets.

The chief minister told the media that the Unified Command required “better co-operation” from Arunachal Pradesh to flush out Ulfa militants holed up in the forests across the inter-state boundary.

Dispur has been in touch with the Arunachal Pradesh government since the army began its latest offensive against the militant group.