61 killed, 470 injured in serial blasts in Assam

Guwahati, Oct 30 (PTI) 61 people were killed and about 470 injured in serial blasts in Guwahati and three other districts of Assam as suspected Harkat-ul Jehad-e-Islami (H.u.J.I.) militants struck terror in the hub of North-East, considered by far the worst attack.

The first of the 13 bombs, suspected to have been
planted by Bangladesh-based H.u.J.I. members, went off at
around 11.30 AM IST under the Ganeshguri flyover near the
high-security capital complex housing the Assembly building,
followed by explosions at Paltan Bazar and Fancy Bazar here.

Around the same time, bombs also went off in crowded
market places of Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon and Barpeta districts
in lower Assam.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi put the toll at 61 dead and
470 injured. Of the six blasts in Guwahati, RDX was used in
two of the explosions, he said adding a special task force was
being set up to unearth the conspiracy behind the blasts.

Black smoke billowed from the Deputy Commissioner's
Office housing the district courts, which bore the brunt of
the attacks in Guwahati, as vehicles, including a number of
cars, turned into mangled heaps of metal.

Police suspected that the bomb was planted in the
court complex on a two-wheeler.

At least 25 people were killed and 235 injured in the
blasts in Guwahati where an indefinite curfew was clamped
following protests by residents, who accused the police of
delayed action.

While 19 were killed and 64 injured in Kokrajhar, 12
died in Barpeta where 46 others were wounded. Five people were
injured in Bongaigaon, Principal Secretary (Home) Subhash Das
told P.T.I.

A red alert has been sounded across the state and army
has also been put on alert in view of the security situation,
he said after Gogoi held a review meeting with his cabinet
colleagues and top officials. PTI ESB