Guwahati, Dec 24 (IANS): Four youths in Assam, suspected to be ULFA-I linkmen, were injured after the police opened fire on them while they were trying to escape custody, an official said on Sunday, adding the shootouts took place in two separate places in the state.
One of the youths, identified as Pallab Jyoti Gogoi, was critically injured in the shootout that took place in the Konwarpur area of Sivasagar district on Saturday night.
The police claimed that Gogoi was a cadre of the outlawed group and was involved in various activities for the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) in the state.
Gogoi is a resident of Bikrampur Chariali in Sivasagar, according to police sources. He was admitted at the Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh with bullet injuries.
The police claimed that Gogoi was directly involved in the blast that happened in Sivasagar district on December 9.
Meanwhile, in a similar incident on Saturday night, three youths were shot by police in Tinsukia district after the police alleged that they were en-route to join the ULFA-I.
According to police, the youths have been identified as Biswanath Buragohain, Manoj Buragohain and Nabin Neog. All of them hail from different areas in Tinsukia district.
After being shot in the leg by the police, they were first admitted to the Tinsukia civil hospital. However, they were later shifted to Assam Medical College and Hospital in Dibrugarh.
A senior police officer said: "The families of the youths gave us the information in writing about their intention to join the ULFA-I. We started a search right away, and we were able to find them. They admitted to attending a meeting in the Dhola region when they were being questioned on the spot. On our way back to Sadiya, the moment the three got out of the police vehicle, they tried to grab a gun from a staff member and made an attempt to escape into the darkness.
"To make sure they couldn't escape, our staff had to use controlled shooting," the police officer said.
The two incidents happened hours after Assam DGP G.P. Singh issued a stern warning to youths who either intended to join or have been supporting any proscribed militant group.
Taking to his X handle, Singh wrote, “Anyone willing to join or support any terrorist group banned by the government will be arrested and prosecuted according to law. Please be careful about what you write about banned organizations on social media."