Pro-talks Ulfa cadre Amrit Ballav Goswami was picked up from Assam’s Golaghat district on Thursday night in connection with Wednesday’s grenade attack in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, pro-talks Ulfa leader Pranmoy Rajguru and television actress Jahnabi Saikia, who were arrested on Thursday for their alleged role in the grenade attack, were produced in a court in Guwahati on Friday and remanded in police custody for 10 days.
A youth suspected to have links with the attack was also picked up from Nagaon district on Friday. Police have not revealed any detail so far.
Golaghat superintendent of police Pushparaj Singh said they picked up Goswami from his native village Lakhibari in Jamuguri, 14km from Golaghat town, to interrogate him in connection with the blast. “We are keeping tabs on other former Ulfa cadres as well to find out if any of them is involved in fresh Ulfa activities,” he added. Goswami, who surrendered in 2008 with arms and ammunition, denied any involvement in militant activities. Sources said he runs a Jatiya Vidyalaya at Lakhibari in Jamuguri.
In Guwahati, police produced Rajguru and Saikia before judicial magistrate (first class), Kamrup (metro), Mridusmita Devi, and sought a 14-day remand. The court granted a 10-day remand after the counsel for the accused, advocate Bhaskar Dev Konwar, opposed the police plea.
Jahnabi Saikia being produced in court on Friday. Pictures by UB Photos and PTI
Konwar said the magistrate also allowed Saikia to meet her mother for five minutes in the courtroom after he submitted that she was not allowed to meet her family at the police station. She broke down while talking with her mother.
A police source claimed that interrogation of Rajguru and Saikia had revealed that the Ulfa (I) cadre who lobbed the grenade had stayed at Saikia’s house on Namghar Path in Panjabari locality of Guwahati for a couple of days and she had dropped him off near the blast site on her scooter moments before the grenade attack. He said the police have identified the youth, got his photograph and other details and a massive hunt was on to arrest him. He claimed that Saikia was in touch with some Ulfa (I) cadres over phone and the police were analyzing her call records for further clues.
Rajguru and Saikia were arrested in connection with two cases — one registered at Geetanagar police station in connection with the grenade blast and the other at Satgaon police station in connection with the recovery of pistol, ammunition, explosives and other incriminating documents from the house at Panjabari from where they were arrested.
The Geetanagar PS case (No. 210/2019) was registered under Sections 325, 326, 307 and 121 of the IPC, Sections 3 and 5 of the Explosive Substances Act and Sections 10, 13, 16 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The Satgaon PS case (No. 147/2019) was registered under Sections 121, 121(A) and 122 of the IPC, Section 25(1B) of the Arms Act, Sections 10, 13, 18 and 20 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 5 of the Explosive Substances Act.
