One killed, 16 injured in an explosion in Assam
IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency
Guwahati, India, April 1, IRNA - One person was killed and 16 injured in a powerful explosion Tuesday in India’s restive northeastern state of Assam.
The blast took place minutes before External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee was to address an election rally close to the blast site, officials said.
A police spokesman said the bomb was planted on a parked motorcycle near a crowded marketplace in the Lalganesh area of Assam’s main city of Guwahati.
“The explosion was powerful and shook the area killing one person on the spot and wounded 16 more, including a child,” police spokesperson Debojit Deuri said.
The injured were shifted to local hospitals with multiple injuries.
“I was sitting inside a hotel near the blast site when I heard a loud explosion and immediately rushed out to find people scattered all over the place with blood splattered in the area,” Bijoy Das, a witness, said.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the blast.
“We are investigating the case and it would be too early to say anything,” Deuri said.
But other senior police officials blamed the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) for the attack.
The ULFA is fighting for an independent homeland since 1979.
The blast took place one kilometer away where the external affairs minister was to address an election rally for Guwahati parliamentary constituency candidate of the Congress party Captain Robin Bordoloi.
“Yes terrorists could try and attack parts of India ahead of the elections…but we are fully prepared to meet any challenge,” Mukherjee told journalists in Guwahati minutes before the blast.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
