GUWAHATI, Dec 26 – The security forces are still in the dark about the identity of the miscreants involved in the mortar attacks in the city last evening, which killed two persons and injured 19 others including former member of Parliament Prabin Sarma. The Director General of Assam Police has announced a reward of Rs one lakh to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest of the miscreants involved in the attacks. Superintendent of City Police Hiren Nath told The Assam Tribune this evening that the needle of suspicion points towards the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) because of the fact that the tail fins recovered were similar to those used by the militant outfit in an attack in the capital complex some time back. However, he admitted that till now, police does not have concrete proof of the involvement of the ULFA in the attacks.
The SP pointed out that normally the militants try to hit a pin pointed target, and ‘in such cases we can easily identify the group involved. But yesterday five mortars were fired in the area. Two tail fins were recovered in the Textile Institute campus, one in the sweeper colony near the Railway station and one on the main road. It is difficult to say who might target places like sweeper colony and textile institute and even the main road, where a number of innocents were hit.’ Nath said that a combing operation has been launched and additional forces have moved into the city. But no one has yet been arrested in this connection. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today reviewed the law and order situation in a high-level meeting with senior civil and police officials in the wake of the mortar attacks. He directed the police to take stern action against those involved in the incident.
Meanwhile, visiting the site of the blasts this morning, the Chief Minister said that the State government is taking the matter ‘seriously’. Gogoi, who was accompanied by State Education Minister Pankaj Bora and DGP Harekrishna Deka, told newsmen that the purpose of the attack was to create panic in the State and thwart the development process. ‘They want to create panic among the people,’ Gogoi said without naming any organisation in particular. ‘They don’t want peace to be restored and are therefore attacking soft targets,’ he said. He feared that such attacks will give out ‘wrong signals’ to people outside Assam who may be interested in investing here.
‘We have not ruled out anybody,’ the Chief Minister said when asked which militant organisation could have been involved. ‘It is a fact that some forces are trying to destabilise the State,’ he said, adding that the attack was a ‘desperate attempt’. Security measures in the State will be reviewed, he stated.
Govt criticised : The Opposition parties have strongly criticised the State government in the wake of the mortar attacks. The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) today demanded the resignation of the Government. In a release here, AGP spokesman Sarbananda Sonowal said that the Congress government, which failed to protect the life and property of people of Assam, has no moral right to stay in power.
AGP vice president Dilip Kumar Saikia alleged that the government even withdrew the security cover of some of the AGP leaders, who had faced attacks by militants in the past and one former minister had to approach the court to get his security cover back. The President of the State unit of Nationalist Congress Party Bhrigu Kumar Phukan alleged that the government is solely responsible for the deterioration of the law and order situation in Assam. Condemning the mortar attacks, Phukan demanded immediate action to punish those involved in the incident. The State unit of CPM also blamed the State government for the deterioration of law and order in the State.