ULFA issue dominates review meeting in Shillong

Shillong, Feb 19 (UNI) Issues related to the heightened United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) activities dominated the agenda of the review meeting held here between National Security Advisor M K Narayanan and security agencies of the North Eastern states.

Official sources said here today that Mr Narayanan held closed-door meeting throughout the day yesterday at the Raj Bhawan with heads of various state and central security agencies, including commanders of the three and four corps of the Army, Air Force, Assam Rifles, Central Industrial Security Force, Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Border Security Force and police chiefs.

The ULFA's recent subversive plans and activities were discussed threadbare during the review meeting held yesterday, a senior security official, who attended the meeting, told UNI.

Mr Narayanan had arrived here in the Northeastern region after the Assam police arrested ULFA militants and busted a hijack plan of the outlawed militant.

ULFA militant Manoj Tamuly, the operational head of the 709th battalion, after his arrest, confessed that a unit of four ULFA activists had plans to execute the hijacking.

The meeting tried to arrive upon a coordinated defence strategy between the various security agencies operating in the region to counter any unforeseen eventuality, the official added.

Meanwhile, the ongoing military operations being carried out in Assam against the ULFA also came up for discussion during the meeting.

Assessment was made on the success of the counter-insurgency operations and modalities were further chalked out to give the operations more teeth.

More than 20 ULFA militants were either arrested or killed in joint army and state police operations in Assam and Meghalaya.

Madan Koch, the operational head of the ULFA's 109th battalion, in-charge of arms trans-shipment for the militant outfit from Bangladesh via Meghalaya, was gunned down in Garo Hills by a joint operation team recently.

Issues relating to other militant organisations operating in the NE were also discussed during the meeting.

Further, the security scenario was reviewed in view of the Assembly polls in Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland and reports of circulation of fake Indian currency notes in the region, purportedly by the ISI.

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