7 Bodo Militants Arrested in Joint Operation by Army, Assam Police

Seven terrorists of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songojit faction), suspected to be involved in the December 23 massacre of Adivasis (tribals) in Assam’s Kokrajhar, were arrested in a pre-dawn operation jointly carried out by the Indian Army and state police.

The forces also recovered 10 weapons including four AK-47s, one HK-33 German made assault rifle, one M-16 US assault rifle and one INSAS rifle from an arms dump in the Ripu Reserve Forest, North of Kokrajhar.

Sources told NDTV that mobile check posts were set up early this morning after intelligence inputs that some of the Bodo militants will try to sneak in to neighbouring West Bengal.
Mathinga, one of terrorists suspected to have carried out the massacre last month in which over 80 people were killed, was nabbed at the Hel Bridge mobile check post while trying to slip out to West Bengal along with a group of civilians.

Mathinga’s questioning led the forces to a nearby village where they arrested the second terrorist, known locally as Khurai and is also believed to have been part of the group that carried out the massacre at Ultapani in Kokrajhar.

Sources told NDTV that ever since the Army, paramilitary forces and police launched operations against NDFB(S), its members have been dumping their weapons in safe places in the forest along the Indo-Bhutan border and trying to merge with the local population.