Skip to content Skip to navigation

Blast in the Time of Festival: 5 dead, 20 injured

Guwahati: In yet another ‘handiwork,’ ULFA explodes a powerful bomb in the busy Machkhowa areas on Saturday morning at around 7-30 which left four people dead and more than twenty injured.

The blast that rocks again in the time of the grand Ambubachi mela atop Kamakhya and Asian Athletic Grand Prix at Sarusajai, took place in front of a mosque. All those four were killed on the spot.

The bomb was placed beside a small tea stall at the daily fruit and vegetable market. Most of the vendors and visitors were not present in the morning when the bomb exploded.

The injured people have been admitted to the nearby hospital for treatment by the people who rushed to the spot hearing the huge sound the blast made. The conditions of four of these people are critical.

Immediately after the incident, police and top ranked police and civil officials including the Deputy Commissioner Abinash Joshi arrived in the spot and started investigation. Later talking to the reporters on the spot, Mr Joshi says the blast is a handiwork of ULFA.

Meanwhile, the city police beefs up security arrangement in view of the grand fair and festival at the Kahakhya temple and also to ensure security to the athletes across the Asian countries in view of the 16th Asian Grand Prix. The event is inaugurated on Saturday by Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.

Panic spreads among those who gatecrash the Kamakhya temple premises to participate in the on going Ambubashi fair. These people have arrived in the fair spot from the last week.

Comments

A. R.'s picture

The explosion took place at Machkhowa and that too in front of a mosque at 5.30 A.M. and not at 7.30 A.M. The time 5.30 A.M. of Muslim Fajar Salah( morning prayer ) Immediately after the incident, police and top ranked police and civil officials including the Deputy Commissioner Abinash Joshi arrived in the spot and started investigation. Later talking to the reporters on the spot, Mr Joshi says the blast is a handiwork of ULFA. How can A. Joshi imediately blame ULFA without proper investigation. This is second blast in Muslim area within weeks. The last week was - The explosion took place at a predominantly Muslim area in village Gulutuk in Kamrup district, 50 km from Guwahati. The Guluktuk blast - "The blast was carried out at the behest of the RSS and was executed by the organisation's youth wing with Abhijit Sarma as the kingpin," ULFA spokesman Raju Baruah said in a statement received by IANS. "Sarma is a member of RSS's youth wing," the statement said. How can a place which is 100% Muslim - a bomb blast ? This is the main question which the local people's should think.

Pages

Add new comment

Other Contents by Author

Amid uncertainty over peace process between NDFB’s progressive faction and Centre, the pro talk faction of the Bodo insurgent outfit on Friday formally has demanded replacement of interlocutor PC Haldar. Talking to reporters in Delhi after meeting Union home minister P Chidambaram, NDFB-P general secretary Govinda Basumatary said that they have urged Chidambaram to replace the former IB director by a political leader. They, further, have suggested names of Ranjeet Sekhar Mushahary, PA Sangma, SC Jamir to replace Haldar. They alleged that the peace process has not been progressing only because of Haldar.
Good news for Assam. Delhiites would be able to shop some of the best traditional handicrafts from Assam. These would be available at a 'mela' to be organised by SSB in the national capital on Sunday. Wives of Sashastra Seema Bal, would bring traditional Assamese handicrafts, food items and dresses to the three-day 'mela' at the CRPF ground in front of CGO complex. The SSB has organised the 'mela' under the aegis of its wives welfare asscoiation and the proceeds of the sale would go for the welfare of the troops.
A northeast based documentary on climate change - DONT CUT MY HEAD OFF! will have its first screening in India on February 17, 2012, at 8 pm at Max Mueller Bhavan in New Delhi. The video moves between Copenhagen and Chizami, a small village in Nagaland. Seno Tsuhah went to UN climate meet in Copenhagen in December 2009 hoping to influence the global negotiators. But they don't have time for 'romantic' Naga wisdom. The video explores two seemingly unconnected worlds of statecraft and realpolitik in Copenhagen climate meet and an agriculturalist and highly nature-dependent rural Naga society. A video about global governance, power games and theater of transparency as performed by global...
Assam Governor Janaki Ballav Patnaik on Thursday urged the Centre to help the north eastern region become a hub of organic cultivation because of its organic soil. Speaking at a workshop on ‘Policy initiatives for promoting partnership between stakeholders in agriculture with particular reference to rain-fed and dryland farming’ organised by the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi he said that the sector is not cost-effective due to high value of certification works at the initial stage and needs the Centre’s help and assistance to set up an export market in the region.
In a major achievement, Guwahati police have arrested three youths a day after they allegedly kidnapped a trucker in the city. According to information, the trio have been arrested during an operation by the Basistha police in the Bhetapara area in search of a truck driver Ravindra Pratap Singh who was kidnapped on Wednesday. Police managed to capture the trio along with Ravindra after a clash at around 9 in the evening. Singh hails from Bihar. The arrested youths have been identified as Anuj Basumatary, Rajendra Pratap Singh, Gurdev Singh and Tapal Singh. Anuj Basumatary is the son of former APSC chairperson Geeta Basumatary. Police interrogation is in progress.
Once again Assam buys a bad name. Over 15 workers of a tea garden died because abject poverty within a short period of four months. These have taken place at the Bhuban Valley Tea Estate a few months after the tea garden faced closure due to labour unrest. The authorities have allegedly stayed away from providing medical treatment to the workers since October 2011. The ten garden workers were lost their lives for lack of food and medical treatment. The Barak Human Rights Protection Committee (BHRPC), a human rights group based in Assam, which carried out a detailed study on the pathetic condition of workers by sending a fact-finding team, found that there are dozens of workers...
Guwahati is gearing up to host the biggest ever Management Convention of Northeast. Courtesy Guwahati Management Association at the Royal Group of Institution campus at Betkuchi on Saturday. The region has seen immense growth and development, which now enables management practitioners to give a new dimension and scientific outlook to manage the region in a more effective way. GMA is organising the convention on the theme ‘Managing Northeast – a challenging opportunity.
The anti dam protest is set to be more intensified when NHPC on Wednesday claimed to have received support from government to go ahead in Gerukamukh project. Talking to reporters in Dispur on Thursday, NHPC managing director ABL Srivastava said that they would not halt construction of the big dam and that they would not directly sit in talks with the protestors. Later, power minister Pradyut Bordoloi who heads the group of ministers on the dam deadlock said that the construction would continue and that NHPC has assured the government of steps to counter the possible downstream impact of the Lower Subansiri project. Before that the NHPC officials held talks with the ministerial panel...
The National Green Tribunal has asked the government not to set up any industry near the famed Kaziranga National Park. In its recent letter, the tribunal, asked the Ministry of Environment and Forest and the Assam government regulate quarrying and mining activities in and around the the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve and Karbi-Anglong Elephant Reserve in Assam. The tribunal also made it clear that if no reply is filed by February 29, The orders came on a petition filed by Assam-based RTI activist Rohit Chaudhary, seeking directions to restrain the quarrying and stone crushing units around Kaziranga National Park, which harbours the largest population of Indian one-horned...
Come Sunday. The Indigenous People Welfare Organization is gearing up for the Carnival of North-East India 2012 in Delhi from Sunday. Addressing a press conference in Delhi on Thursday, organizers said that DoNER minister Pawan Singh Ghatowar will open the ten day long festival with 60 stalls from the eight north eastern states. The Indigenous People Welfare Organization is organizing the event in active collaboration with Delhi Tourism and supported by a host of other entities and authorities including the DoNER ministry, Ministry of Home Affairs, Manipur Development Society, Sangai Caterers and the North East Sun.