In a swift joint operation, the State internal security division and Assam Police have arrested four suspected Bodo militants from a house in Bengaluru on Saturday morning. The arrested are being interrogated at a police station under the Bengaluru rural district. Police sources have not revealed any details of the arrest and said that they are not yet sure which group the suspects belong to.
The suspected militants, identified as Sandan Basumatri, Naseen Basumatri, Jibal Nursey and Tomar Basumatri, all in their twenties, were working in a factory at Peenya Industrial area, hiding from the police. Police sources said that they would be produced before a magistrate for transit to Assam. The Assam Police had tipped off the ISD of Karnataka Police which was already trying to track down militants holed up in the State. In January, the city police had arrested one more suspected militant, Bikhang Basumatri, from Assam. He was allegedly involved in the violence in Assam in December last year. According to police sources, this is a significant breakthrough in containing Bodo militancy in Assam.