Assam Police camp attacked by ULFA(I), 4 injured

At least four security personnel were injured in a militant attack on an Assam Police Commando camp in Tinsukia district early on Sunday. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said counter operations have been launched to nab those behind the attack. Militant group ULFA(I) claimed responsibility for the attack in Jagun area and said ‘Operation Bujoni’ was carried out in retaliation against Assam Police’s repeated action against the banned outfit, and alleged drone attacks by the Army on its camps last year.

The attack comes ahead of the State assembly elections, scheduled on April 9. The police officer said the attack was carried out around 2.30 am. The militants fired multiple rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) shells at the camp, with five of the launched shells exploding. Security personnel stationed at the camp immediately retaliated, leading to a brief exchange of gunfire.

Police officers said the attack is suspected to have been carried out by a seven-member group, which escaped across the inter-State border with Arunachal Pradesh under the cover of darkness.

The four security personnel injured in the attack were taken to Assam Medical College and Hospital (AMCH) in Dibrugarh for treatment. AMCH superintendent Dhruvajyoti Bhuyan said all the injured were out of danger and in a stable condition.

Confirming the attack, the Chief Minister said, “An incident has happened, and it is highly condemnable. Counter operations have been launched by Assam Police and the Army, and we are confident those responsible will be nabbed.” He refused to comment on the ULFA(I), claiming that the attack was carried out by it.

Meanwhile, ULFA(I), in a press statement, owed responsibility for the attack and said it was conducted under its ‘Operation Bujoni’. It maintained that the outfit had not carried out any

operation against the State police as a gesture towards peace overtures of the Himanta Biswa Sarma Government, after it came into power in 2021.

However, leaders, cadres and sympathisers of the outfit were targeted by the security agencies, and many of them were killed, the ULFA(I) claimed.

It also blamed the Indian Armed Forces for conducting drone and missile attacks on its mobile camps along the India-Myanmar border in July last year. The ULFA(I) asked the State police force to “refrain from subversive activities” against the outfit, warning of retaliatory action.

Counter operations have been launched to nab those behind the attack 

—CM Himanta Biswa Sarma