Tinsukia: The March 22 ULFA(I) attack has brought into focus the steep security challenges confronting police in Tinsukia ahead of the Assam assembly elections.
Tinsukia Police are projecting resolve through inter-agency coordination. “Synergy for security! @AssamPolice with CISF and CRPF working together to provide a safe and secure environment for upcoming elections,” the district police stated officially.
Tinsukia has a history of insurgency-related incidents in Upper Assam.
In the early hours of March 22, suspected ULFA(I) militants launched “Operation Bujoni,” firing four to five rocket-propelled grenades at the 4th Assam Police Commando Battalion camp at 10 Mile Jagun. Four commandos were injured, three with grievous splinter wounds and one with burns, in a 20–30 minute gunfight.
The attackers melted into the darkness towards the Arunachal Pradesh border. ULFA(I) claimed responsibility, terming the strike retaliation for police actions and alleged Army drone strikes on its camps last year. It warned state forces to “refrain from subversive activities.”
Jagun lies perilously close to the Assam-Arunachal boundary, less than 50 km from Myanmar’s Sagaing region, where ULFA(I) maintains bases.
Tinsukia’s eastern fringes share dense reserve forests and riverine terrain with eastern Arunachal, long identified as hideouts and transit routes for the outfit’s cadres. This geography enables swift infiltration and escape, stretching police resources thin across remote, hard-to-patrol areas.
Compounding the threat is the timing. Security think tanks have flagged possible militant alliances and a strategic shift by ULFA(I) to disrupt the pre-poll atmosphere.
High alert has been sounded district-wide, with joint search operations involving Assam Police, CRPF, Assam Rifles, and Arunachal forces underway.
Assam DGP Harmeet Singh visited the attacked camp and the injured personnel, assuring swift justice. “We will take action. Whatever legal action we need to take will be taken,” he said, urging those behind the strike to ask: “Who gains from such attacks?” A senior police official added: “We have launched an operation in coordination with other forces to find the attackers.”
Multiple layers of difficulty remain. Forces must secure scattered polling booths in vulnerable pockets, gather real-time intelligence on cross-border movement, prevent extortion or intimidation of voters and candidates, and maintain round-the-clock vigilance in forested border zones.
Preventive measures, CAPF reinforcements, and district-level coordination meetings are ongoing, while the Jagun ambush shows the challenges of maintaining security in this sensitive area.
As polling day approaches, Tinsukia’s security forces are working closely at both central and state levels to ensure safe and orderly elections amid ongoing insurgency concerns.
The upcoming assembly election will be held on April 9 in a single phase, with counting of votes starting on May 4.