On a day meant to honour India’s freedom, a dark conspiracy was brewing beneath the surface last year in Assam. Now, nearly a year later, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has brought that plot to light — formally charging three individuals, including the elusive commander-in-chief of the banned United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I), Paresh Baruah, in a foiled bid to shatter the peace on Independence Day.
NIA’s latest chargesheet, filed in a Guwahati court on Friday, brings renewed focus on the armed outfit’s persistent attempts to destabilise the region.
According to the NIA, the accused — Paresh Baruah alias Paresh Asom, also known in underground circles as Kamruj Zaman or Zaman Bhai — conspired with two of his operatives, Abhijit Gogoi and Jahnu Boruah, to carry out a series of IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blasts across Assam. The timing of the plan was no coincidence. The group allegedly aimed to strike on August 15, 2024.
Authorities say the operation was designed not just to sow terror but to send a symbolic message — that separatist ideologies, though diminished in strength, still flicker in hidden corners of the Northeast. If the plan had succeeded, it would have turned a day of tricolours and children’s parades into one of grief and alarm.
The new charges levelled by the NIA — under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), and the Explosive Substances Act — are a significant development in India’s ongoing effort to clamp down on cross-border terror links and insurgency-fueled violence in the Northeast.
A senior NIA official remarked, “This chargesheet is more than a legal step. It is a message that the nation’s resolve remains strong — that every act of violence will be investigated, and every conspirator brought to justice, no matter how far they run or how long it takes.”
With insurgent leaders like Baruah operating from across borders — often protected by remote terrain and sympathetic foreign elements — the road to justice is rarely short.
According to sources close to the investigation, digital evidence, communication intercepts, and witness testimonies were all crucial in building the case. The NIA also credits enhanced cooperation with state police and intelligence networks for helping unravel the conspiracy in time.
Top security sources told “Organiser Weekly” that the self-styled commander in chief of ULFA (I) visited Bangladesh on 10-11 August, just after Sheikh Hasina was toppled from power in the country. He met many top Army officials and even terrorist leaders in Bangladesh before leaving for his hideout in Myanmar. Just a few days later the ULFA (I) planned a conspiracy to carry out a series of blast in Assam on 15th August 2024.
