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ULFA-I behind blast in guwahati: gogoi

blames security lapse; says ‘outside’ agencies involved  press trust of india Guwahati, 29 July The anti-talk faction of the ULFA…

blames security lapse; says ‘outside’ agencies involved 
press trust of india
Guwahati, 29 July
The anti-talk faction of the ULFA led by Paresh Baruah was behind the grenade blast at Paltan Bazar in the heart of the city that left 15 people injured, Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said today.
He said the ULFA-I had carried out the blasts last night with help from outside agencies and directed officials to take necessary steps to prevent such incidents.
Mr Gogoi admitted that there must have been some security lapse “otherwise the blast would not have taken place”. “Outside agencies do not want development in Assam and as such are pressuring insurgent outfits active in the state to carry out such blasts…If there is development in Assam, the problem of unemployment will end and youth will not join any insurgent outfit. As a result, these outside forces will lose ground,” he told reporters at Mariani.
Referring to the AGP and BJP’s allegation of the state government having failed to check violence, the Chief Minister said that during NDA’s rule, 410 people had died in blasts in the state but in recent years only 52 people have died. “Moreover, it was during the AGP’s rule in the state that the dangerous secret killings had taken place,” Gogoi said.
Director General of Police, Mr Jayanta Narayan Choudhury told the media at the blast site here that ULFA-I top leader Drishti Rajkhowa was the mastermind behind the blast.
“We got intelligence inputs that Paresh Barua-led ULFA-I may carry out subversive activities in the run-up to Independence Day,” he said. With warnings of more such incidents, the government has put in place measures to prevent them while security has been tightened in vulnerable areas across the state. Checking, patrolling and intelligence gathering have been stepped up. Noting that the grenade thrown yesterday was of Chinese make, he said, “Chinese ones are easily available and their casings are made of plastic. Because of that the blast was less intense.”
A NIA team that carried out investigations at the blast site during the day too confirmed that it was a Chinese grenade. A Unified Command Structure meeting was held with the Chief Secretary, Four Corps commander, senior Paramilitary forces and police officers here today. Meanwhile, all the 15 injured in the blast admitted to Gauhati Medical College Hospital are stated to be stable.
Following the grenade blast, Kamrup (Metro) district administration, under which Guwahati city falls, has promulgated Section 144 Cr PC for safety. The blast at Paltan Bazar also left including three sports people from West Bengal injured.

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