Suspected Ulfa rebels on Saturday launched a grenade attack in one of the most crowded locality of the capital city, near the Guwahati railway station, and killed one CRPF personnel and critically wounded 12 others.
The incident took place near Paltan Bazar police station at about 7.50 pm when two motorcycle-borne Ulfa rebels hurled a powerful grenade, targeting the CRPF personnel who were waiting to board a train to Dimapur.
Three CRPF men of 67 Battalion and at least ten civilians, including three women, were critically wounded under the impact of the grenade blast. The victims of grenade attack were shifted to Guwahati Medical College Hospital but one of the CRPF personnel, who was identified as constable Bhawani Singh, succumbed to the injury on way to hospital.
The 67 Battalion of CRPF was on its way to Dimapur from Shillong. The CRPF men who were waiting to board the train had come out of railway station when the Ulfa rebels lobbed the grenade. The incident took place even after specific alert of the intelligence agency, which has given specific input to the city police on Ulfa rebels targeting the Paltanbazar area of the city. The deputy commissioner (Kamrup Metro), Ashutosh Agnihotri, who visited the blast site, said, “The intelligence agency had alerted the city police about the Ulfa plan to attack Paltanbazar area. Let the preliminary investigation be over, we will certainly look into the lapses, if any, on part of the police.”