Guwahati, May 16
ULFA militants gunned down three Hindi-speaking traders in two separate incidents at Ghaladhari and Dishoi Tiniali in Golaghat district at 7 pm today.

Law and order IGP D. Pathak informed that both the incidents occurred almost at the same time. Additional forces were sent to the incident sites.

The Assam government has sounded an alert all over the state in the wake of the banned ULFA killing six Hindi-speaking persons in Sivasagar and Dibrugarh districts of eastern Assam yesterday.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, while condemning the dastardly act of violence by the proscribed ULFA, said the government had sought additional forces from the Centre to prevent recurrence of carnage of Hindi-speaking people.

He informed that the police and the Army had swung into action to mount vigil in vulnerable pockets of Hindi-speaking population, comprising mostly small-time traders and immigrant workers from Bihar, in remote parts of eastern Assam districts.

“It is impossible to provide personalised security to everyone. So, we may give shelter to the people vulnerable to ULFA attacks by setting up temporary camps under tight security in case the situation worsens,” Gogoi said.

He said the state was running short of paramilitary forces as 40 companies were moved out of the state to Uttar Pradesh for the just concluded Assembly elections.

“The banned outfit is bent upon creating trouble in the state and not at all interested in a final solution as it is acting at the instance of forces inimical to the country,” the Chief Minister added.

He has instructed chief secretary P. C. Sharma to contact governments of other states, especially Bihar, with a request to provide adequate protection to people from Assam living in those states in case of backlash to killing of Hindi-speaking people in Assam.

The state government has instructed the police to involve locals and form peace committees to keep vigil against designs of the banned ULFA to create trouble in the state.