United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) ULFA(I) militants killed two hindi speaking members of a family in the oil-rich Upper Assam Tinsukia district on Tuesday night.
Police say three other persons of the same family were injured in the militant attack.
The attack took place in the remote Bijulibon village under Pengeri police station, around 8:30 pm on Tuesday.
Businessman and Daughter Killed
“Two militants had called out the businessman’s family and opened fire on them with sophisticated weapons,” a top police official said.
The first to die was Nandalal Shah, a local businessman. Kajal Shah, his daughter, was critically injured, and died on the way to the hospital.
The businessman’s wife and two sons sustained bullet injuries in the attack. All three were admitted to Assam Medical College hospital in Dibrugarh for treatment.
A Police official said the attack on the family was an extortion attempt. “… militants had attacked the businessman’s family after failure to give the extortion money demanded by the outfit group.”
An Assam police official said 15 members of the ULFA(I) group, led by Paresh Baruah, alias Paresh Asom, crossed the border into Upper Assam from Myanmar.
“The group comprised with sophisticated weapons had entered in Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sivsagar district, trying to attack security forces. The militant group has targeted hindi speaking people in the Upper Assam districts,” the police official said.
There was an existing police alert in Upper Assam districts, warning of probable militant attacks.
After the attack on the family, the army and police launched an operation against the militants in several areas of the district.
ULFA(I) Militant Tipoff
Police received a tip-off about an ULFA(I) militant in the border area. They arrested the militant near Sonari in the Upper Assam Sivsagar district. Police discovered the man was carrying two hand grenades.
