Guwahati: Four people, including three members of ULFA`s pro-talk faction led by Arabinda Rajkhowa, were on Monday arrested for their involvement in cases of robbery, abduction and subsequent murder of two people, police said.
The three United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) members were identified as Hira Sarania, Pradip Kalita and Bhupen Choudhury, while the fourth was Sarfaraz Ali.
Sarania was the commander of ULFA`s 709 Battalion and was once one of the close aides of the outfit`s commander-in-chief Paresh Baruah. He joined the pro-talk faction after some of the outfit`s top leaders, including chairman Rajkhowa, were arrested in Bangladesh and subsequently agreed to peace talks with the Indian government. "The four were arrested today (Monday) morning for a dacoity case at the house of Rajen Lohia of Guwahati and the subsequent murders of Binit Jain and Supresh Patil of Guwahati," said Senior Superintendent of Police Anand Prakash Tiwari.
"Binit, who was an employee of Rajen Lohia, planned the dacoity at the house of Lohia on July 31 and looted it with the help of the three ULFA cadres. They also killed Patil, Lohia`s servant," said Tiwari, adding that the four later also killed Binit when he demanded more share of the looted money.
"We have been interrogating them since morning and they have admitted about their involvement in the crime. They confessed that they have thrown the two bodies in Brahmaputra river," said the SSP and added that police will search for the bodies in the river.
"We are also trying to find out the weapons used while committing the crime," he added. "We are going to search for the bodies of the two persons from tomorrow (Tuesday) but it is difficult to find as there are strong currents in the river and the bodies might have been washed away far away," Tiwari said.
The four arrested men will be presented before the court of Kamrup chief judicial magistrate on Tuesday, the police officer said.
IANS