Guwahati, April 6
Three explosions rattled Assam today, killing eight persons, including a 10-year-old girl and a woman, and injuring 62 others. The blasts sent security forces into a tizzy on the eve of the ‘foundation day’ of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), the suspect behind the terror act.

Notably, the explosions rocked the state a day ahead of Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s scheduled visit tomorrow for campaign trail. Union Home Minister P Chidambaram called up Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi to take stock of the situation immediately after the blasts.

The most powerful explosion occurred in the city where suspected ULFA militants detonated a powerful explosion at the busy Maligaon market area at around 1:45 pm., killing seven 7 persons — three on the spot — and injuring 56 others.

Three of the deceased were identified as Bhupen Kumar, Mousom Khanun (10) and Narayan Chandra Das. They were declared dead in Guwahati Medical College Hospital. The injured were admitted in four hospitals in the city. There were six children among the injured, the police said.

At least 20 motorcycles parked along the road were burnt to ashes and a couple of cars damaged in the blazing fire that was stoked by the powerful explosion in front of a restaurant, opposite to a police station. The fire devastated a vast area of the locality, including several shops.

Five persons were injured in a separate blast that occurred at Dhekiajuli town in Sonitpur district of north Assam at around 3:30 pm. The police informed that an improvised explosive device planted on a bi-cycle went off, injuring five persons, including a CPRF official and a RPF constable. The injured were identified as CRPF sub-inspector Baljit Singh, Prabhakar Das, Suman Duta, Prabin Agarwal and Gopichan Agarwal.

Meanwhile, suspected militants triggered another blast at Chokihola under Santipur police station in Karbi Anglong hill district at around 8:45 this morning. The bomb was planted in a local market that was yet to open for the day. No one was injured in the blast.

Senior Home Department official SC Das informed that the banned ULFA was the prime suspect behind the blast, given its track record of carrying out terror strikes in the run-up to its ‘foundation day’ on April 7.

The blasts occurred despite heavy deployment of police and paramilitary forces in view of the alert sounded on the eve of the ULFA’s ‘foundation day’.