Guwahati, Mar 14(NNN): A grenade attack on the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) headquarters in Guwahati on Monday evening left at least five persons injured.
The anti-talks group of the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Senior police officials aren’t sure what caused the blast at the APCC media cell near the entrance gate of Rajiv Bhavan at 6.55 pm. “It could have been a grenade lobbed by some passersby or, going by the intensity and sound, a remote-controlled IED,” said an officer.
But DGP Sankar Barua said it was too early to ascertain the cause. “We hope to catch the culprits after a thorough investigation,” he added.
The blast damaged much of the media cell leaving spokesperson Mehdi Alam Bora and a security guard bleeding profusely. They were rushed to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital while APCC general secretary Ranjan Bora and spokespersons Kalyan Gogoi and Akshoy Rajkhowa escaped with minor injuries.
The ULFA had during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s visit in February threatened to target Congress leaders and members in poll-bound Assam.
“The Congress needs to be taught a lesson for splitting our organization,” said the outfit’s military chief Paresh Barua from somewhere on the Myanmar-China border.
The outfit showed it meant business by attacking a Congress gram panchayat leader in eastern Assam’s Tinsukia district last month and following it up with a grenade attack on a Congress office in Golaghat district.
