4 gun runners held in Bongaigaon

Guwahati: Bongaigaon Police, in a joint operation with the Army, on Friday nabbed at least four gun runners suspected to be supplying arms to Muslim fundamentalist groups active in the region.
Three firearms, including a stolen 'licensed' factory-made sophisticated pistol and two country-made pistols, were found on them.
SP (Bongaigaon) Kumar Sanjit Krishna said, "They had stolen the sophisticated gun from a contractor before the state polls and were trying to sell it."
Those arrested have been indentified as Md Ismail Ali (22), Mofidur Islam (30), Mizanur Rahman (28) and Nasiruddin (26).
Nasiruddin stole the licensed gun and buried it in the playground of a technical institute in Bongaigaon town with the help of Mizanur. They tried to sell the firearms to the duo from Darang district.
"These four have connections with Muslim Tiger Force of Assam (MTFA) and were named in several extortion cases in the area too," a source said.
The Bongaigaon district and its adjoining Bodoland Territorial Area Districts have seen a steady rise in Islamic militancy in the recent years. So far, over 29 Jihadi module members have been arrested in various operations in the lower Assam districts.