DSP Md. Fakhrul Islam addresses an awareness programme on handling emergency situations at Fancy Bazar on Friday. Picture by Eastern Projections

Nov. 17: City police today continued with their search operations to ferret out nine Ulfa militants, including a self-styled sergeant major of the outfit, who have reportedly sneaked into the city.

A senior police official said this group was involved in the recent blasts carried out by the outfit in different parts of the city.

The militants have been identified as “sergeant major” of the outfit’s 709 battalion Arup Deka alias Mahesh Talukdar, Hemanta Rajbongshi, Bikram Singh, Rajib Deka alias Lebu, Rana Khan, Dulal Gogoi, Ajit Das, Kamal and Mintu.

“Arup Deka and Hemanta Rajbongshi are on the most-wanted list of the police,” he said. Deka is from Ghograpar area while Rajbongshi is from Mukalmua in Nalbari district.

The official said most of these rebels were members of the 709 battalion, which is active on the northern bank of the Brahmaputra in the Lower Assam districts, primarily in the undivided Kamrup, Nalbari and Baksa.

“Both Deka and Rajbongshi were operating under self-styled lieutenant Hira Sarania, the commander of the battalion,” he said.

The official said Sarania masterminded all extortion drives and the blasts in the recent past.

According to intelligence inputs, Sarania was operating from Nalbari or Baksa district.

“The extortion notes served by the Ulfa in the city were either signed by Sarania or Arup Deka. Forensic experts have found that the quality of paper, which carries Deka’s signature is inferior than the ones signed by Sarania,” he said.

The officer said Dulal Gogoi is from Upper Assam while the rest of the group is from Lower Assam.

“Interrogation of Ranjit Saikia, who was arrested recently from Jalukbari, revealed that Gogoi was taking shelter in Saikia’s residence and was keeping some explosives to be delivered to the outfit’s 28th battalion in Upper Assam,” the official said.

The police have been frisking of passengers of Upper Assam-bound buses after they received information that Gogoi might use an elderly person as courier to deliver the explosives to the 28th battalion.

The police were also conducting raids in suspected hideouts of the Ulfa rebels to track down the group before it gets a chance to strike again.

“All vehicles are being inspected at all entry and exit points of the city,” he added.