Police detains pro- talk Ulfa leaders for remarks

■ Launches combing op to nab the killers

◗ Villagers accuse local police officer of switching off phone after the incident

After gruesome killing of five innocents, Assam police on Friday swung into action and detained two senior leaders of the pro- talks faction of the Ulfa for provocative statements against Bengali Hindus. While Mrinal Hazarika was picked up in Guwahati, Jiten Dutta was detained at Gourisagar in Assam’s Sivasagar district.

Though, anti- talk faction of Ulfa- I led by its commander in chief Paresh Baruah denied their involvement into the killing, security sources on Friday asserted that it was the handiwork of outlawed Ulfa- I rebels who are suspected to have fled to neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh after the incident.

Indicating that militants are moving towards Myanmar to escape, Assam DGP Kula Saikia who visited the place of occurrence in Upper Assam’s Tinsukia district on Friday said that a massive combing operation has been launched to nab the perpetrators of crime. Pointing out that objective of the state administration is to deescalate the growing tension between the two communities, security sources said that two pro- talk faction of Ulfa leaders were arrested for their provocative remarks which facilitated an opportunity to Ulfa- I rebels to indulge in such gruesome incident.

On October 24, pro- talk Ulfa leader Hazarika said that Bengali people who support the Citizenship ( Amendment) Bill, 2016 would face a Nellie- like situation, referring to the massacre of more than 2,000 migrants at the height of the anti- foreigners Assam Agitation in February 1983. Dutta had also made similar statements.