LOC20:33
17:33 GMT
NEW DELHI, Aug 7 (KUNA) -- At least three people were killed and 10 injured
in a powerful explosion Tuesday in Jorhat district of India's Northeastern
state of Assam, ahead of the counntry's August 15 Independence Day
celebrations.
The explosion took place in front of a police station in Jorhat this
evening, news agency Indo Asian News Service reported.
The injured, four of them policemen, were admitted to a hospital at Jorhat
with multiple injuries, the news agency said.
This is the fourth explosion in the past two days. 10 people were injured
last Sunday in three separate blasts in Assam. State Police have blamed all
the attacks on the outlawed insurgent outfit -- United Liberation Front of
Asom (ULFA).
Today's attacks are also seen as attempts to intensify attacks by ULFA
ahead of India's Independence Day celebrations on August 15, the news agency
said.
Indian security forces have been put on a state of high alert across Assam
and measures have been taken to foil any guerrilla attack linked to
Independence Day, the news agency reported quoting an Assam police official.
Army, police and paramilitary troopers have been deployed to protect
installations like road and railway bridges and oil facilities, besides
crowded markets in Assam, the official informed.
ULFA have been boycotting India's Independence Day and Republic Day
celebrations for years now. They have been carrying out terror attacks around
August 15 every year to make their presence felt.
The top ULFA leadership is reportedly based in Bangladesh. ULFA is waging
an insurgency since 1979 to create "sovereign" Assam carved out of India. New
Delhi has accused ULFA leadership of maintaining close links with Pakistan's
ISI to create disturbance in the country's Northeast.
The Indian government may enter into peace talks with ULFA, if the group
drops its demand for "sovereignty". New Delhi has often raised with Dhaka the
issue of the presence of Indian Insurgent Groups on the soil on Bangladesh
including ULFA. However, Dhaka denies this charge.
During India-Bangladesh Home Secretary level talks here last week, New
Delhi asked Dhaka initiate tough action on the IIGs from India's northeast who
were using Bangladesh as a base for carrying out terror strikes in India.
During the meeting, both sides termed terrorism and extremism as common
threats and decided to take quick action against the guerrillas and criminals
taking shelter in each other's territory.
A security alert has also been sounded in India's Northeastern states of
Tripura and Manipur as well. (end)
dr.tg
KUNA 072033 Aug 07NNNN