Govt was warned about ULFA attack, admits Chidambaram

CHIDAMBARAM ADMITS: The Home Minister says they had received intelligence reports about blasts in Nalbari.

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New Delhi: The Central Government had prior inputs about the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) planning new strikes in Assam, but was still unable to avert Sunday's bombing in Nalbari district, Home Minister P Chidambaram told Parliament.

"In the past few weeks, we had received intelligence reports about the plans of ULFA to engineer bomb blasts in Nalbari and Guwahati districts. These reports were promptly shared with the Assam government and the state police," Chidambaram told the Rajya Sabha in his statement on the November 22 terror blasts in Nalbari in which seven people were killed and 35 injured.

The Home Minister, citing reports from the state government, said one person, suspected to be involved in the bomb blast, has been arrested.

He said the state government had issued alerts and put a look out notice for nine ULFA militants who were suspected to have infiltrated into the state before the bombing.

"While strict vigilance was maintained in the two districts and elsewhere, unfortunately, the incident in Nalbari could not be averted," Chidambaram said.

The Minister said the ULFA "is in disarray" owing to intense counter-insurgency pressure by security forces on the militant group.

"Key ULFA leaders are in prison. Recently, two ULFA leaders surrendered to the security forces. Three ULFA leaders are believed to be abroad and there are reports of serious differences among them," he said.

"It is our assessment that the recent incidents manifest the desperation of the banned organisation ULFA."

Giving details of the Assam violence in the current year up to November 15, he said 1,196 insurgents have been neutralised "by way of arrests or surrender or being killed in action".

At least 282 kg of explosives and 630 weapons have been seized from insurgents till November 22.