Guwahati: A senior leader of ULFA’s pro-talk faction, Hira Sarania, was today arrested from Nalbari town on the charges of dacoity, police said today.
A special unit of Guwahati police nabbed Sarania and three others—Sarfaraz Ali Nawaz, Pankaj Kalita and Pradip Choudhary—for their alleged involvement in a dacoity.
Heightened security. Reuters
Sarania is a senior leader of the Arabinda Rajkhowa faction of ULFA, which is currently engaged in peace talks with the Centre. Sarania joined ULFA in 1990 and at one point of time headed the dreaded 709 Battalion of the outfit, the sources said.
The four arrested persons allegedly involved in the dacoity at the house of Guwahati-based businessman Rajen Lohiya on 30 July when Rs 38 lakh in cash were looted.
It was also suspected that the dacoits killed Lahoya’s employee Suresh Patil on the same day and his manager Vinit Jain on 2 August, but the bodies were not found yet.
Jain was also allegedly involved in the plot. But, following disagreement over share of the booty, Jain was murdered, the sources said.
The police were interrogating Sarania and his aides at the city’s Panbazar police station to find out what happened to Patil and Jain.
Two other accused in the case remain at large.
Later during interrogation, the accused made a statement that that they had killed Patil and Jain and threw the bodies in the Brahmaputra river, the sources said.
The police were trying to ascertain the veracity of their statement.
PTI
