Dibrugarh, March 14: It will be a tough task ahead for Anurag Tangkha when he takes over as the new superintendent of police of Tinsukia district within the next couple of days.

He will replace Apurba Jiban Baruah, who now takes charge as a member of the chief minister’s security ring, Tangkha’s earlier post.

Tangkha, an IPS officer had served as the SP of Dibrugarh prior to the 2001 state Assembly polls and had the repute of “a people-friendly and at the same time a cop with an iron hand”.

Tinsukia, the easternmost district of the state had witnessed much violence and unrest in the past couple of years. The rocket-propelled grenade attacks by the Ulfa on the New Tank Farm of Digboi refinery and the residential complex of the Hindustan Lever Limited-owned personal product-manufacturing unit near Doomdooma have rocked the district.

The district was the worst hit in the state during the anti-Bihari clashes following the railway recruitment controversy.

“The volume of incidents and the implications it had upon the district police administration can be gauged from the very fact that four superintendents of police had to be changed within a span of 10 months,” a source said.

Indrakanta Gogoi was replaced by Satyen Gogoi, who was suspended later for his “alleged failure” in controlling anti-Bihari violence and the then commandant of 2 Assam Police Battalion based at Makum in the same district took over charge as the SP.

“Another problem last year was the unrest which prevailed in the several gardens of the district which ultimately resulted in the killing of labourers in the Khobang tea estate, under Talap police station,” the source said. The then additional superintendent of police (headquarters) of the district Mugdha Jyoti Mahanta was suspended along with the officer-in-charge of Doom Dooma police station over the Khobang incident.

However, the issue was settled with the state government ensuring a four-layer security ring to protect the assets of the companies.

“Even after so much of security arrangement the Ulfa managed to attack the HLL residential, which proves the condition of the district in terms of law and order and the new SP will have to tackle all these,” the source added.

Of late the Ulfa has become more active in this Upper Assam district which shares a critical inter-state boundary with Arunachal Pradesh’s trouble-torn Tirap and Changlang districts. According to intelligence sources Ulfa leaders have shifted bases to the three Upper Assam districts of Sivasagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.