10 arrested from Assam in nationwide crackdown on terror group: CM Himanta

Guwahati: Ten people were arrested from Assam in the nationwide crackdown on terror outfit Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) on Saturday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

In the massive pan-India crackdown, NIA conducted searches at 26 locations across five states -- Assam, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir "Today, Assam Police led by NIA has arrested 10 members of an Islamic terrorist organisation," he posted on X.

Attacking the Congress, he alleged that whenever there is a threat to Assam, the opposition party opposes the government, protecting "this ecosystem".

A senior police officer said that in a joint operation conducted by the NIA and Assam Police, nine suspects were apprehended from Goalpara and one from Hojai district.

"All those arrested are currently in NIA custody. An investigation and legal procedures are currently ongoing," he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of a programme, Sarma said these arrests have once again proved that the threat to Assam from "radical elements" was very much real.

"A section of people is often derisive when I mention these threats but it has been proved time and again what we are saying is true," he said, adding that whenever NIA acts against radical elements, arrests will be made from Assam.

"In Assam, it is a fact that radical forces have infiltrated and it is necessary for us to be cautious," he said.

Sarma alleged that slogans raised by encroachers during the eviction drive at Kachutoli in Kamrup (Metropolitan) district prove that "a form of radical training" was being imparted.

"The arrests made in Goalpara and the Kochutoli incident indicate that the indigenous people of the state will have to lead a life of deep uncertainty in the next 10-15 years. It will be very difficult for us to live here if this continues," he claimed.

Two persons were killed in police firing following violence during the recent eviction drive in Kochutoli village.