The Assam Police Special Task Force was revived in March 2023 to operate against suspected extremist networks and organised drug trafficking.[1] Between March 2023 and December 2024 it conducted 254 operations, registered 41 cases and arrested 482 people in various cases.[1] The same period included 21 arrests of people suspected of links with extremist organisations, including jihadi groups, Maoists, the United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) and insurgent outfits operating from Manipur.[1] The STF tally was also reported as 254 successful operations in 2023-2024, compared with 111 between October 2008 and February 2023.[2] Arrests in the recent period were also reported as reaching 482.[2]
According to an operational account released by the Assam STF in January 2025, the force recovered more than 59 kg of heroin, 9.67 lakh psychotropic tablets and 37,000 bottles of banned Phensedyl cough syrup.[1] The seizures also included nearly four tonnes of ganja, 37.26 kg of opium and one kg of methamphetamine.[1] A separate January 2025 account of the same March 2023 to December 2024 record described almost 4,000 kg of ganja seized alongside over 13 kg of heroin and thousands of psychotropic tablets.[2]
Inspector General Partha Sarathi Mahanta heads the Assam STF and took charge as Guwahati Police Commissioner in December 2024 while continuing as IGP of the STF.[1] Mahanta, who headed the STF during the operation that led to the arrest of suspected ISIS India chief Haris Ajmal Farooqui, was selected for the Kendriya Grihmantri Dakshata Padak 2026.[1]