Guwahati Police arrest PLA militant from Paltan Bazar, devices, documents seized

Guwahati, April 20: The city police have arrested an active member of the banned insurgent outfit, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), from a hotel in the busy Paltan Bazar area, on Saturday.

The individual, identified as Mayanglambam Bobby Singh, hails from Thoubal district in Manipur and is suspected to be a key operative of the proscribed outfit, allegedly involved in insurgency-related activities in violence-hit Manipur.

“We acted on specific intelligence inputs. In a joint operation conducted by Basistha Police, Special Operation Group (SOG) East, and Paltan Bazar Police, Singh was apprehended from a hotel in Paltan Bazar. He had been residing in the Beharbari area for some time,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Mrinal Deka.

While no arms or ammunition were recovered, police seized several electronic devices and incriminating documents from Singh’s possession.

He is currently being interrogated by Basistha police and is expected to be handed over to Manipur Police soon for further investigation.

This is not the first time PLA operatives have been tracked down on Assam soil.

In February, authorities had nabbed another cadre of the same outfit—Yaikhom Tandaba Singh—from Murazar in Hojai district.

According to Hojai SP Saurabh Gupta, Tandaba Singh was involved in arms dealing and drug trafficking and had been working to establish a fresh arms smuggling network in the region.

Meanwhile, security forces in Manipur have intensified their crackdown on militant outfits.

In the past 48 hours, a joint team of state and central forces arrested 10 militants affiliated with eight different banned groups in a series of operations across the valley districts.

The raids led to the recovery of weapons, military gear, mobile phones, and cash.

The arrests turn the spotlight on cross-border insurgent networks operating between Assam and Manipur, as authorities move to dismantle their support bases and funding channels.