M A I N   N E W S

Blast at police station in Dispur
Two cops hurt

Guwahati, January 9
A bomb suspected to have been planted by ULFA exploded in Assam's high-security Dispur capital complex today, critically injuring two policemen, as the death toll in attacks by the banned group on non-Assamese people mounted to 70 with the death of another migrant worker.

The powerful bomb was planted in a motorcycle that was parked at the entrance of a police station in Dispur, officials said here.

The explosion created panic in the area, where the state Assembly and residences of ministers are located, and top police officials rushed to the spot.

The injured policemen were taken to Guwahati Medical College Hospital.

Yesterday, 11 persons were injured in two bomb blasts by ULFA in the Satgaon area here near the Narengi army cantonment.

The toll in the attacks by ULFA on non-Assamese people since Friday had risen to 70 as a migrant labourer succumbed to injuries late last night at Assam Medical College Hospital in Dibrugarh.

The man was injured in an attack by rebels at Sadu Nagari in Duliajan.

Tezpur: The Army, paramilitary forces and the state police today braced for a joint offensive against ULFA in Assam with Defence Minister A.K. Antony saying that "no quarter" would be given to the banned group that had killed 69 migrant workers since Friday.

Despite steps taken by the authorities to protect Hindi-speaking migrants, they continued to flee from Assam for the second consecutive day today.

"The ULFA will not be able to carry ahead its heinous crimes and no quarter will be given to them," Antony said after chairing a meeting here with Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Army chief Gen J. J. Singh and top commanders to review the situation in the state.

Expressing the government's determination to counter the ULFA's "provocative killing" of civilians, Antony said a joint operation would be launched soon to strike at new bases of the group. He promised all help to Assam, including troops and materials, to contain the upsurge in violence.

The Army has re-deployed 3,500 troops from Misa in Arunachal Pradesh to Sibsagar and Dhemaji districts, where many Hindi-speaking people were gunned down. Gen Singh said these troops would replace paramilitary forces in the area. Another 10,000 troops have been deployed in other violence-hit areas like Tinsukia and Nalbari, and the Centre decided to rush 1,000 more paramilitary forces to Assam to intensify operations against ULFA. The Centre had deployed 20 companies of central forces or about 2,000 men yesterday. — PTI

Central relief for ULFA-hit

New Delhi, January 9
A team of MPs from Assam today discussed the situation in the state with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the kin of migrant workers killed in the attacks by ULFA.

Manmohan Singh told six MPs, accompanied by Union Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Minister Santosh Mohan Dev, that the compensation would be in addition to the aid of Rs 3 lakh provided by the Assam Government.

The delegation requested the Prime Minister to render all possible help to restore normalcy and communal harmony in Assam in the wake of the killing of 69 non-Assamese persons by ULFA.

Assuring them of all possible help from the Centre, he informed the MPs that he was seized of the situation. — PTI