The Army and Assam police in a joint operation arrested five hardcore militants of United Liberation Front of Asom  and recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition including RDX explosives from a hide-out close of India-Bhutan
border under Bagsa district of Assam on Friday.

An Assam police source said that the joint team of Army and police conducted raids at Murkusiapara village under Barama police station near Bhutan border and managed to apprehend the five hardcore ULFAS ultras in the wee hours.

The security personnel recovered 3.5 kgs of RDX explosives, two 7.63 mm pistols, three China-made grenades, four detonators weighting 4 kgs each, 32 rounds of ammunition of AK 47 assault rifles, three timer devices used in bombs, explosive materials used in making improvised explosive devices.

The arrested ULFA militants were identified as  Mono Das alias Jintu, Shankar Rajbongshi alias Bipul, Haramohan Saud alias Bikash, Pradip Barman and Modo Rajbongshi.

The joint team of police and the Army has been conducting raids i9n the district in search of Food Corporation of India Executive Director (Northeast), Dr P C Ram who was abducted by the ULFA grom Guwahati on the night of April 17 last.

The police and the Army have launched search operations in Bagsa district of north Assam bordering Bhutan on the basis of intelligence tip-off that the FCI official was being kept there by the abductors in different hide outs.

The banned ULFA allegedly demanded Rs 21 crore from the family of the FCI official for his release. But the police were yet to confirm it.The state governme has been maintaining that security forces and the police have been keeping a close tab on the abductors of the FCI officials.

The abduction of the FCI official took an unwarranted turn early this month when the banned ULFA demanded release of two of its arrested battalion commandersm Mrinal Hazarika and Pallab Saikia, in the interest of 'safety not release' of the FCI official.