'Assam blasts aimed at sparking panic'

Indian soldiers stand guard at a railway track as a train arrives near an oil refinery outside Guwahati, the capital of northeastern state of Assam yesterday. Suspected United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa) militants triggered two explosions late Thursday which injured three people and ripped up a railway track near the oil refinery. PHOTO: AFP

Police have blamed eight separate bombings and grenade attacks in the oil and timber-rich province on separatist rebels from the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa).

"The Ulfa wants to create terror and scare the people of Assam so that they are frightened to come out openly to protest the recent incidents of violence unleashed by the militants," Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi told AFP.

On August 15 Ulfa militants triggered a landmine explosion in the eastern district of Dhemaji killing 15 people, most of them students attending an Indian Independence Day parade.

"After the blast at Dhemaji the people of Assam took to the streets to condemn the Ulfa's nefarious designs at targeting civilians," Gogoi said, adding that the dominant guerrilla group was now attacking "soft targets" to stem anti-rebel protests.

On Thursday unidentified attackers in separate incidents blew up a bus and a vehicle carrying troops going on leave with their families and staged four separate grenade attacks.

The attacks killed a total of six people and injured 63.

"Definitely there is fear in the minds of the people as the Ulfa is going berserk. What happens if the militants simply throw a grenade on the street?" asked Hemanta Nath, a physician in Assam's main city Guwahati.

Soldiers were on guard across the state Friday while police and paramilitary troops blocked all entry and exit routes to Guwahati, police said.

"Heavy security cover has been provided and we are devising new strategies to deal with the Ulfa's urban terror tactics," said Assam Inspector General of Police Khagen Sharma.