| Friday, January 19, 2007 |
| Assam: One killed, many hurt as ULFA sets off bomb in market |
Hours after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who visited the trouble-torn Assam, assured the Hindi-speaking population that they were safe in the state, the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) has struck again.
In a blast that rocked Ganeshguri, a local wholesale vegetable market run by traders from north India, a child was killed and over a dozen other people were injured.
This violent incident took place even as the Army intensified its offensive against the outlawed ULFA, arresting 10 of its cadres and busting two militant camps.
An Army vehicle had a close shave in Goalpara district in Lower Assam when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off just after the vehicle passed the targeted spot.
It is, however, too early to say whether the blast was a continuation of the recent attacks on Hindi-speaking people in Upper Assam by the ULFA, D K Pathak, IGP (Law and Order), said.
A shopkeeper who witnessed the blast said the explosion was not ear-shattering, but the impact was substantial since the market was crowded at that time.
This is the first incident of an ULFA attack in Lower Assam after last week's killing of 64 non-Assamese migrant workers in Upper Assam.
Security has been tightened in the district that shares its boundary with the West Garo Hills of Meghalaya, a safe passage for Bangladesh-bound rebels.
Meanwhile, the Army has nabbed five ULFA terrorists in Sonitpur district and three crude bombs, a rifle and some machetes were recovered from them. The Army also nabbed two militants each in Dhubri and Tinsukia, and one in Sapkata (Kokrajhar).Labels: Politics |
| posted by a correspondent @ 10:20 AM |
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