Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Wednesday appealed to militants to shun violence for the sake of the future generations as the state remembered the victims of October 30 serials blasts of 2008.
Paying homage at a memorial at Ganeshguri, one of the blast sites, Mr Gogoi urged the militants to leave the path of violence to ensure their own secure future and enable the future generations to be born and grow up in a peaceful state.
The chief minister said the people want peace and the militants should understand and accept the wishes of the people, for whom they ostensibly fight. He maintained that militancy has come down in the state but has not been wiped out yet.
‘We are working continuously for the development of the state. And for accelerated development, peace is a must,’ Mr Gogoi added.
He once again urged the militants to return to the mainstream for the sake of peace and prosperity in the state.
Besides the chief minister, state Social Welfare Minister Akon Bora, DGP JN Choudhury and other MLAs and prominent people participated in the memorial function.
Families of victims were also present on the occasion.
Similar memorial meet was also organized at the Guwahati Chief Judicial Magistrate’s court premise in the city, site of one of the blasts.
Lawyers and others remembered the victims and wore black badges as a sign of condemnation of acts of terrors.
Nearly 90 people had died in the nine synchronized blasts across Guwahati, Barpeta Road, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon on October 30, 2008. The number of listed injured was 540.
NDFB chief Ranjan Daimary is among the prime accused in the serial blasts.
He is currently on bail to facilitate peace talks with the NDFB faction led by him and a Suspension of Operations agreement is scheduled to be signed by Mr Daimary and the government on November nine next.
He was earlier apprehended by Bangladeshi security forces and handed over to India. (UNI)