Dibrugarh: Charaideo police arrested a man on Thursday for allegedly creating and circulating fake United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (Ulfa-I) extortion letters targeting businessmen.The accused was identified as Mridupawan Bora, alias Bengena, of Namtola. His arrest came a day after Charaideo SSP Surjeet Singh Panesar said a syndicate was using scanned copies of purported Ulfa-I letters to threaten members of the business community.“Through our investigation, we found that a businessman from Namtola, whose business credentials are not quite legitimate, was generating and editing these messages to defame the police and spoil the peaceful environment. Following the investigation, we raided and searched his house in the presence of a magistrate,” the SSP said.Police recovered a pistol, five rounds of live ammunition and three empty cartridges from Bora’s residence. Panesar said Bora claimed the firearm had an all-India licence issued in Nagaland, but it had not been renewed since 2023.“Carrying a firearm without a valid renewed licence constitutes an offence. He has also not disclosed where the three cartridges were fired,” the SSP said.Police also recovered templates of Ulfa-I extortion letters from Bora’s mobile phone. The letters allegedly demanded Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh from selected businessmen in the names of Ulfa-I leaders Michael Asom and Abhimanyu Asom.Panesar further alleged that Bora had tampered with a police vehicle in collusion with a garage mechanic. The mechanic allegedly removed the vehicle’s original steering-box component, replaced it with a faulty part from Bora’s car and installed the original in Bora’s vehicle.“We apprehended the mechanic, and a separate case will be registered in this connection,” Panesar said.A case has been registered, and the investigation is continuing. Police said they would examine other complaints against Bora and determine whether others were involved.Panesar urged people to report suspicious Ulfa-I extortion demands to police.
