12 Bodo militants arrested in Assam

Twelve Bodo militants were Sunday arrested from three places in Assam along the international border with Bhutan, a day after an insurgent involved in the massacre of adivasis was shot dead, police said.

The cadres of the anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) were arrested in Chirang district in operations jointly carried out by Assam Police, the Central Reserve Police Force and the Sashastra Seema Bal.

"The 12 cadres include a member of the outfit's central committee, a deputy commander and a platoon commander," said Inspector General of Police (BTAD) L.R. Bishnoi.

They were being interrogated to ascertain their links with the recent violence in three districts, he said.

Four AK-56 rifles, five pistols, one .303 rifle, one .315 rifle, 12 magazines, four grenades and 785 rounds of ammunition were seized from them.

Security forces Saturday gunned down Jeblang alias Jagat Basumatary, platoon commander of the NDFB in Kokrajhar district, who was involved in firing in Pakriguri area in Kokrajhar Dec 23 that left over 30 people dead.

The NDFB had killed over 70 people in five locations across three districts on that day. The violence also displaced over two lakh people across Kokrajhar, Sonitpur and Chirang and Udalguri districts. Some of the violence-hit areas are part of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD).

Police Friday arrested seven NDFB militants from Kokrajhar, including two who were involved in the killings.