Guwahati:
A bomb expert of the banned United Liberation Front of Assam was arrested and a powerful IED recovered in separate incidents on the outfit's 'Army Day' today, police said.
ULFA bomb expert Tapan Phukan alias Bhabani Khaklary, trained in Myanmar, was arrested from Solmari village in Lakhimpur district today, officials said.
In a separate incident, a powerful IED, weighing more than one and a half kg, was recovered during a joint operation by the police and army in Teestapara area of Dhubri district.
Meanwhile, security was tightened throughout the state following a directive by the Union Home Ministry in the backdrop of ULFA's 'Army Day' today.
DGP Jayanta Narayan Choudhury said that three districts -- Tinsukia, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar -- were areas of concern and put on maximum alert, while Goalpara and Dhubri districts were also vulnerable.
He said several youths had been picked up and police pickets posted in vulnerable districts.
The outfit observes March 16 as 'Army Day' to mark the formation of its armed wing in 1979 under 'commander-in-chief' Paresh Barua, who now heads the anti-talk faction.