Three vehicles of the paramilitary Assam Rifles were ambushed in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district on Tuesday, April 16 morning by unknown assailants.
An Army spokesperson said one person received gunshot wounds in the attack, which the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) claimed to have carried out near Namdang at around 8.30 a.m.
The ambush took place less than 24 hours after Home Minister Amit Shah said the BJP-led government at the Centre had signed more than 10 peace accords with extremist groups in the northeast to ensure lasting peace.
“The vehicles were moving from Changlang in Arunachal Pradesh towards Margherita in Assam when the ambush was carried out. The troops retaliated and thwarted the attackers and in the process, one person sustained gunshot wounds,” Lieutenant Colonel Mahendra Rawat said.
He said the person — his identity was not specified — was evacuated to the Military Hospital at Jorhat and his condition was stable.
The ULFA(I) claimed that the ambush ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s roadshow in Guwahati was part of its ‘Operation Pratisodh (revenge)’ in the memory of two of its fighters killed by the armed forces recently.
“Several vehicles of the ‘Indian occupational forces’ were destroyed and many soldiers were injured grievously,” the outfit said in a statement sent via e-mail.
The Lok Sabha election in Arunachal Pradesh and the eastern part of Assam will be held on April 19. Elections to 50 Assembly seats in Arunachal Pradesh are also scheduled on April 19.
