Attackers wearing military uniforms shot dead 12 people and wounded 15 on Friday in a busy market area in a town in India’s restive northeastern state of Assam, in an attack blamed by the authorities on a regional separatist group. Several children were among those hurt. Criticising strongly the attack on innocent people in Kokrajhar, the Congress on Saturday said the method adopted by militants to get their demand accepted by the government is unacceptable.
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The terrorists came in an auto-rickshaw and started firing at a weekly market at Balajan Tiniali, around 220 km from Guwahati.
Kokrajhar deputy commissioner held a high level security meeting with police, army and paramilitary forces to review the situation ahead of Independence Day, administration sources said. “And just after that I heard gunshots but I could not see him as I hid under a bench in my makeshift tea stall”.
“Although the family members have identified the slain NDFB commander, we are going to go for DNA test to ascertain his identity scientifically”, Sarma said.
In a bid to avoid retaliatory killings, Sonowal appealed for peace and harmony.
According to data on the South Asia Terrorism Portal, 8,212 people have been killed in militancy-related incidents in Assam since 1992.
Earlier today, Assam Chief Minister Sarbanand Sonowal visited Kokrajhar to take stock of the situation arising out of Friday’s terror attack that claimed 13 lives.
Mr. Sonowal announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs. 5 lakh for the next-of-kin of those killed in the attack and Rs. 1 lakh each for those who suffered injuries. Police officials said an AK-56 rifle and some grenades were recovered from the scene. Additional forces have been rushed to the spot, even as other terrorists are being pursued by security forces. The Army was also carrying out extensive area domination operations in the district to ensure swift actions, they said.
Militants fighting for a Bodo homeland killed at least 70 people, majority Muslims or tea-plantation workers from other parts of India, in a series of attacks in Assam in 2014.
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Assam’s Director General of Police, Mukesh Sahay, said that as per the preliminary reports, it seems that that National Democratic Front of Bodoland-Songbijit (NDFB-S) faction is behind the attacks.
