Three members of outlawed insurgent group United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) led by fugitive Paresh Baruah surrendered before the police in Tinsukia district of Assam, a senior police officer said.
The surrender by the ultras came on a day when 11 persons, including two security men, were wounded in a grenade explosion set off by suspected ULFA (I) outside a shopping mall and near a security check-point in Guwahati on Wednesday night. Guwahati Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar told reporters that the insurgents might have wanted to target the security post of Seema Sashashtra Bal (SSB).
One of the three ULFA (I) cadres who surrendered was allegedly involved in the killing of Bhaskar Kalita, the officer-in-charge of Bordumsa Police Station, Director General of Police Dr Kuladhar Saikia told reporters here on Wednesday.
Based on intelligence inputs about the ULFA-I men crossing the India-Myanmar border to carry out specific activities in Assam, a joint counter-insurgency operation was launched by a team of Assam Police, the Indian Army and the Central Reserve Police Force at Tarani Reserve Forest on Tuesday.
"The security forces persuaded the cadres to give up arms and the ULFA(I) personnel surrendered with a huge cache of arms and ammunition," Saikia said.
The weapons and the ammunition which the cadres surrendered include AK-81, AK-56 and HK-33 rifles along with nine magazines, two hand grenades and 425 bullets.
The three insurgents who surrendered were identified as Bubul Moran alias Tiger Asom, Binanda Dohutia alias Swadesh Asom and Chandrakanta Borgohain alias Tipang Asom, the police said.
Saikia said the Tinsukia Superintendent of Police informed him on Wednesday that Moran was allegedly involved in Kalita's killing in an encounter with the outfit near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on May 4, 2018.
While ULFA (I) continued to resort to violence, another faction of ULFA led by Arabinda Rajkhowa handed over by Bangladesh to India several years ago has joined peace talks and is currently engaged in negotiations with the Indian government.
Saikia said that of late several ULFA (I) cadres have been trying to flee Myanmar following operations against them in Myanmar and some of them were either arrested in Assam or surrendered.