GUWAHATI, Jan 24 – Even as a security blanket stretched over Guwahati and its suburbs in the prelude to Republic Day, the police have not ruled out the possibility of extremists attempting to carry out attacks in civilian areas. “We have information about some ULFA cadres in and around Guwahati. Their movement is worrying especially with the Republic Day so close,” said a senior police official. There should not be any reason for panic, but alertness always helps, he noted.
Considering available information and past experience, he said that there was “reasonable apprehension” about extremists seeking to carry out subversive acts.
While referring to the cadres, the officer said that they might not belong to a single battalion of the banned outfit that has been blamed for a string of blasts, the last of which took place on January 9.
About Wednesday’s incident of a patrol party on the Brahmaputra being assaulted and taken hostage by a group of people, the senior officer ruled out involvement of extremist elements. However, he went to state that police patrolling in the Brahmaputra has been intensified as a proactive step.
Patrolling by boat has been made more frequent after a number of intelligence agencies concurred that extremist elements could gain easy access to Guwahati by the river that shoulders the city for several kilometres.
Plain-clothes policemen have also been deployed in and around several of the jetties, and police have urged people to report any suspicious activity to the nearest police station.
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