Digital Desk: The Assam Police Department has warned Oil India Limited (OIL) of possible attacks by the proscribed ULFA(I) on its installations in the state, as well as possible kidnappings of its officials.
In a letter to the general manager of OIL (security), the Dibrugarh superintendent of police (district special branch) has ordered the business to inform its officials and employees about the threat.
According to the letter, “Reliable intelligence input suggested that the ULFA(I) and its sympathizers are planning subversive actions in Dibrugarh.”
“They may kidnap/target men from oil installations for their own vested interests.” the February 22 letter read, asking OIL to warn security mechanism posted at important installations and sensitive strategic areas until February 28.
“Furthermore, you are required to enhance the security of the oil rigs/workover rigs by employing armed security guards where unarmed local security personnel are already manning,” the letter added.
The advisory also recommended that local police conduct joint security and mobile patrols at regular intervals to neutralize such evil intents by the organization.
However, refuting all the allegations, ULFA(I) ’s publicity department member Rumel Asom in a statement, said that the organization had no such plan against OIL.
Rumel claimed that the entire situation is the consequence of a few high Assam Police officials’ vested interests and that “financial irregularities” by them are behind issuing the alert letter to the OIL.
Earlier, three employees of the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) were abducted by ULFA(I) militants from the Lakwa oilfield in the Sivasagar district of Assam, near the Nagaland border, on April 21, 2021.
However, three days later, after an encounter near the India-Myanmar border, two employees were freed, while militants released the third after 31 days in Myanmar near the border on May 22.
On the other hand, two Quippo Oil and Gas Infrastructure employees were kidnapped in the first week of April last year and freed by ULFA(I) on December 21, 2020, after being held captive for three and a half months.
The two were kidnapped at the Kumchaikha hydrocarbon drilling site in Arunachal Pradesh’s Changlang district, with a ransom demand of Rs 20 crore.
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