Security alert in Guwahati as 2 IED-like devices discovered amid ULFA(I) threat of 24 bombs across Assam
PTC News Desk: The banned militant group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Independent) claimed on Thursday that it had planted bombs at 24 locations across Assam, prompting an extensive search operation by security forces.
In an email sent to media outlets, the anti-peace talk faction of ULFA stated that the bombs failed to detonate due to a “technical failure” and urged the public to cooperate in defusing the explosives. The group provided specific details for 19 of the locations, while the exact sites for the remaining five bombs were not disclosed.
The Assam Police immediately responded by deploying bomb disposal squads, metal detectors, and sniffer dogs to the identified areas. A senior officer at the Assam Police headquarters stated, “Bomb disposal squads, metal detectors, and sniffer dogs have been dispatched to every location. So far, we have not received any information about the recovery of bombs.”
Among the 24 locations named by ULFA(I), eight are in Guwahati, including an open field at Last Gate in Dispur, near the official residences of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other ministers. Other areas mentioned in the email include Satgaon Road near the Army cantonment in Narengi, as well as Ashram Road, Panbazar, Jorabat, Bhetapara, Maligaon, and Rajgarh.
During the search operations, police were unable to locate any suspicious objects at six locations. However, they did recover two IED-like devices in Panbazaar and Gandhi Basti. “We thoroughly searched eight locations. Out of these, we could not find any suspicious objects in six of them; however, in Panbazaar and Gandhi Basti, we found two IED-like objects,” Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah informed reporters.
ULFA(I) also listed several districts in its message, including Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Tinsukia, and Golaghat. Police have closed all roads in and around the locations mentioned in the email. Senior police officials have rushed to the sites and are closely monitoring the ongoing search operations.