Click to play videoGuwahati: Assam was rocked by a series of bomb blasts on Monday. Four blasts rocked Guwahati , Dhekiajhuli near Tezpur , Mankachar in Dhurbri district and Udalguri just a few hours apart.
The blasts took place just a day before the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to the state.
The first bomb ripped through the crowded Maligaon area of Guwahati in which seven people were killed and more than 30 injured, some of them critically.
The same area was rocked by a blast on January 1, 2009 too. Authorities suspect United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) triggered the blasts.
On April 4, police had relapsed sketches of two suspected ULFA terrorists who had allegedly plotted to bomb Guwahati.
Even as the injured were being rushed to hospital in Guwahati another bomb exploded 150 kilometers away at Dhekiajuli near Tezpur.
The third blast took place in Manchakachar where terrorists threw a grenade killing a policeman while the fourth took place in Darrang.
The state government was forced to admit that there were security lapses.
"This is a matter of serious concern. Yes, there is a lapse. We have been providing security in the past. We have full confidence in the administration. Earlier also they (terrorists) have tried to create chaos before elections," Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said after reports of first two blasts.
But Gogoi has failed to guarantee that the coming elections will be terror-free. ULFA's raising day is on April 7 and for 30 years the terror outfit has ensured that no election in Assam has been free of violence and bloodshed.
Though Manmohan Singh hasn't cancelled his visit to the state despite the terror threat, Congress has reasons to worry.
The anger of people on the streets of Guwahati after the blasts can well translate into votes against the party which now rules the state. Opposition is already targeting the government's failure to prevent one blast after another.
Clearly, ULFA's shadow on the elections in Assam now looms large.
(With inputs from Arijit Sen and Sumon Chakrabarti)
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.