A dreaded field commander of the United Liberation Front of Asom – Independent (Ulfa-I) Uttam Lahon alias Uday Asom who had managed to elude security forces for last several years was gunned down in a fierce gunbattle betwen Ulfa (I) and security forces at Tikok Malow Pahar under Ledo police outpost in Tinsukia district in the wee hours of Thursday. The Myanmar-trained Ulfa (I) militant who was better known by his alias Uday Asom was an expert in Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) and bomb-handling and was said to be one of the trusted deputies of Ulfa (I) commander in-chief Paresh Baruah. The Ulfa (I) militant who led several operations for the proscribed outfit had several run-ins with security forces in Tinsukia district in the past couple of years but each time he had managed to escape by the breadth of a hair. On November 14, 2022, a Ulfa (I) group led by Uday Asom had carried out a deadly attack on an armoured vehicle of the Army on the Digboi-Pengeri road in Tinsukia district. Though no one was injured in the attack the armoured truck suffered damages. Similarly on July 1, a fierce gunbattle took place between Ulfa (I) militants and security forces at Kakopathar area of Tinsukia in which one Ulfa (I) militant Gyan Asom was killed. Uday Asom who was part of the Ulfa (I) group however managed to escape.
Giving details about the operation, Tinsukia SP Abhijit Gurav said that an offensive was launched in the area following intelligence inputs that a 7-9 group of heavily-armed Ulfa (I) cadres were taking shelter in the area.
“We had inputs that a group of 7-9 Ulfa (I) cadres led by Uday Asom and Mriganka Asom were taking shelter in the area from last 8-10 days. They were planning to kidnap one influential businessman from Tinsukia district. They were also planning to target top police officials in revenge for carrying out relentless operations against the militant group in recent times. The encounter took place at around 1.30am. The firefight lasted for 5-7 minutes in which one Ulfa (I) militant identified as Uttam Lahon alias Uday Asom was killed. The rest of the group however managed to escape taking advantage of the thick forest cover and darkness,” the SP said.
One Type-56 assault rifle, one pistol, two grenades, Improvised Explosive Devices (IED) materials, one bagpack, medicines etc were recovered from the encounter site.
Meanwhile, a search operation led by IGP (North-East range) Jitmol Doley and SP Abhijit Gurav and assisted by the Army
is being carried out in the area. The entire area has been cordoned off by security forces to flush out the militants.
