Guwahati, Sept. 19 : Prabal Neog, a commander of the rebel United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), has been nabbed by police during an intensive search operation in insurgency-hit Assam’s Tezpur District.

Neog is suspected to have planned the recent killings of a large number of Hindi speaking migrant labourers in Upper Assam. He is believed to be the mastermind behind major bomb blasts in the twin districts of Tinsukia and Dibrugarh.

Neog was produced before a local court in Guwahati on Tuesday amidst heavy security.

Neog was put in-charge of the 28th Battalion last year after his predecessor Mrinal Hazarika was arrested by the West Bengal police in Siliguri.

Earlier this year, the insurgent group killed at least 72 people, mostly Bihari labourers, working in brick kilns.

The ULFA has time and again warned non-Assamese businessmen and labourers of dire consequences, if they continue to live in the State.

It has also accused New Delhi of flooding the State with outsiders to reduce the indigenous Assamese population to a minority.

Earlier, the Centre had initiated talks with ULFA in February 2006, but it failed to make headway as the group remained adamant about its demand for sovereignty.

The ULFA says it is fighting for Assam's independence, which is rich in oil, natural gas and tea. It accuses Centre of taking away its mineral and forest resources while neglecting the local population.

Assam is one of seven states in northeast, a region racked by a number of insurgencies. More than 15,000 people have been killed since ULFA launched the revolt in 1979 in Assam. (With inputs from ANI)