GUWAHATI, June 8 - With its back to the wall following operations by the Myanmar Army, the United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) is desperately trying to create a support base among the intellectual class, including students, while to thwart such a move, police and security agencies are also gearing up to identify the persons who are receiving calls regularly from the senior leaders of the militant outfit.
Highly placed security sources told The Assam Tribune that in recent times, ULFA(I) commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah started calling up persons who are vocal in favour of Assamese sub-nationalism in their social media posts and TV talk shows, which proved that the militant outfit is either monitoring the media, including social media, themselves or someone else is doing the job for them. Sources said the police and security agencies have already identified around 25 to 30 persons who received calls from the militant leaders frequently.
�If the police get adequate proof of any person�s involvement in activities of the militants, immediate action will be taken against them. For example, a student leader was recently arrested after police got proof of his close ties with the ULFA(I) militant involved in the blast in Guwahati,� sources pointed out.
Sources said that on their own, police and security agencies are also monitoring the social media so that a close watch can be kept on persons who are giving posts supporting Assamese sub-nationalism or against the Government of India as there is every possibility that the militants may try to tap them to increase their support base. All the district police forces have also been asked to keep a close watch on the social media. However, sources admitted that it is not possible to keep tabs on the messages circulated on the WhatsApp groups unless anyone from the group comes forward to inform the police.
Meanwhile, commenting on the activities of the militants, sources said all the Northeast-based militant organisations, including the ULFA(I) and NDFB(S), are having serious problems because of the operations by the Myanmar Army as they have lost their camps and bases in the neighbouring country. However, there was an input that a group of around 13 members of the ULFA(I) was sent to India from the bases in Myanmar a couple of months back to indulge in acts of violence. Five of the group members surrendered immediately after reaching Assam, while one was arrested in connection with the blast in city. The whereabouts of the others is not known. There was an input that a small group of militants is moving around in the jungles along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border near Tinsukia, but it is not known whether they are from the same group of 13.
