Security beefed up in Assam ahead of I-Day celebrations
Aug 12, 2022
Guwahati (Assam) [India], August 12 : In view of the Independence Day celebrations, Assam Police has beefed up security measures in the state.
Security measures have been tightened in the frontier state following banned militant groups ULFA-I and NSCN-K have called for a boycott of the Independence Day celebration and called for a total shutdown on August 15.
Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Bhaskar Jyoti Mahanta told ANI that "according to the intelligence input, ULFA-I has been planning to attack security personnel, but Assam Police is alert and have made all security measures to prevent any untoward situation.
The Assam DGP on Friday inspected the central parade ground in Guwahati and took stock of the security situation.
Meanwhile, after busting five modules of Bangladesh-based Islamic terrorist organization Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) in the state, the Assam Police have accessed vital information and decoded the activities and plans of Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT).
A senior Assam Police personnel said that AQIS/ABT has planned a big strike for Assam and other parts of the North Eastern region and the Assam Police have decoded their plans.
He further said that, during the investigation and interrogation of the arrested members of AQIS/ABT, the police found that, the AQIS/ABT members were using special modern mobile apps for communication.
"Each module of AQIS/ABT had used special end-to-end encrypted chat apps for communication," the top Assam cop said.
On August 7, the Assam police arrested a woman identified as Jahura Khatun in connection with Al-Qaeda Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) from the Bilasipara area in Dhubri district and recovered two mobile phones in her possession.
Hiren Nath, ADGP (Special Branch) of Assam police told ANI that, Jahura Khatun is the wife of absconding AQIS/ABT member Abu Tallah.
"As per our intelligence input, Abu Tallah is a Bangladeshi national and he married Jahura Khatun who is hailing from Bilasipara area in Dhubri district. Jahura Khatun studied till Class 8, but she knew how to handle the special mobile app. They had used the special mobile app for communication," Hiren Nath said.
Recently, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said in a press conference that, six Bangladeshi nationals who are members of AQIS/ABT, entered Assam in 2016-17 and Assam police had arrested one among them and five are still absconding.
According to the police, the communication mode is highly sophisticated. Some apps have been installed. Some people have come from Bangladesh, they installed the app and they talked and then they discontinued the app.
Assam Police have so far arrested at least 33 persons including a Bangladeshi national and busted five modules of AQIS/ABT in the state since March this year.