Top Ulfa-I chief killed in Assam

In a major breakthrough on the insurgency front, Assam Police on Thursday shot dead a commander of the banned United Liberation Front of AsomIndependent (Ulfa-I) in an encounter in Western Assam’s Bongaigaon district. Another Ulfa-I cadre was captured live by the police after the encounter.

This has come days after the banned outfit abducted three employees of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) in Sivasagar district. Two of them have been rescued since.

The Ulfa-I cadre Dwipen Saud who was killed in an encounter at Besimari in Bongaigaon district was newly appointed commander of outfit’s Western Command in place of Dhristi Rajkhowa who surrendered before the police a few months back. The surrender of Dhristi Rajkhowa was seen as a major setback for Ulfa-I which had lost strength completely Western Assam.

Assam Director General of Police Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta who informed about the encounter in his social media post on twitter said, “Police-Ulfa encounter took place at Besimari (Manikpur PS) in Bongaigaon district just some time back. UlfaI commander western command, recently appointed to replace Dhristi Rajkhowa, SS (self-styled) Col Dwipen Saud appears dead with bullet injury. He’s being taken to hospital now.”

He added, “His gunman Padum Rai is apprehended alive with a weapon. Another weapon and a grenade recovered in the PO (police operation). Further search is on.”

Security sources claimed that encounter had no connection with the recent incident of kidnapping of three ONGC employees in Upper Assam. the its in