Assam police on Sunday reviewed the security situation in Upper Assam districts, the second such meeting to be held in the past 24 hours following the recovery of bomb-like objects planted by the proscribed Ulfa (Independent) to mar Independence Day celebrations on Thursday.

The back-to-back meetings in Sivasagar on Saturday and at Lepetkatta in Dibrugarh district were chaired by special DGP Harmeet Singh, who said they took stock of the investigation in the recovery of bomb-like objects.

The meetings also had brainstorming sessions “on the way forward” to ensure no harm comes to the state or the people of the state.

The focus on Upper Assam is understandable because Ulfa still has “strong roots” in the region. Fighting for a sovereign Assam, it is the only militant outfit from the state outside the peace process.

The SPs, additional SPs and the OCs of Dibrugarh, Tinsukia, Dhemaji, Lakhimpur and Sadiya districts took part in the meeting held on Sunday at Lepetkatta, about 10km off Dibrugarh town, along with senior police officers from Guwahati.

“Orientation and reorientation” of the OCs were also discussed, sources said, because they are the eyes and ears of the police force on the ground.

It was, therefore, necessary to equip/motivate them to prevent a repeat of the security breach the Ulfa had exposed by planting the bombs wherever they wanted despite tight security for Independence Day, sources said.

The police have also announced a financial award of Rs 5 lakh to get “credible information” on the persons who made, transported and planted the bombs.

These steps follow the Ulfa (I)’s disclosure about planting bombs at 24 different locations through a press statement on Thursday morning, sending the administration and the public into a tizzy that resulted in an intensive search operation for the bombs and for people responsible for planting the explosives.

The bombs were timed to go off between 6am and 12 noon on Independence Day but did not due to low voltage of the batteries the bomb-like devices were connected.

Singh said special investigation teams have been set up in districts where “bomb-like devices” were recovered. The number of such districts is five, including Kamrup (Metro) district which covers Guwahati city.