Guwahati: Militants belonging to the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Sangbijit faction) gunned down five passengers travelling in a night bus and injured three others in a dastardly attack on the national highway in Kokrajhar district in western Assam late Friday night.
Police informed that the night bus named ‘Swapna’ was coming from Siliguri in West Bengal to Lakhimpur in Assam when it was intercepted at gun point by armed NDFB(S) militants wearing camouflage battle fatigue at Ramphalbeel under Serfanguri police station in Kokrajhar district at around 10 pm on Friday.
The militants then called out a select group of Hindi-speaking passengers out of the bus and fired upon them from close range. Five persons were killed in the firing while three seriously injured, police informed. Senior police officials rushed to the spot from Kokrajhar and launched a combing operation in the area. The injured were rushed to hospital in Kokrajhar.
All the victims of the attack were from different districts of Bihar. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has ordered a probe into the killing and said that only cowards target innocent people even as the opposition BJP has demanded his resignation for failure to protect lives of people in the state.
Claiming responsibility for the killing, the NDFB(S) in a statement issued to the media termed it a retaliation to the killing of one of its cadre by a joint team of Assam Police and Army at Moinaguri under Kachugaon police station in Kokrajhar district earlier on Friday.
The security personnel had recovered one 7.65 mm pistol, one grenade, one magazine four rounds of live ammunition, three empty shells, two mobile phones and a scooty sans registration plate from the slain militant.
Newly-appointed Director General of Assam Police Khagen Sarma on Friday warned that various militant groups including ULFA (anti-talks) and the NDFB(S) were planning to create trouble in the state in the run up to the Republic Day.
The leaders of Bodo political party, Hagrama Mohilary and Chandan Brahma condemned the dastardly attack by the NDFB(S) on outsiders and called upon all the communities to maintain peace and harmony to foil the design of the militants to create division in the society.
10 suspected militants detained by police
Siliguri: Assam police on Saturday detained ten suspected militants after the National Democratic Front of Boroland (Songbijit faction) which shot dead five migrant labourers from Bihar and West Bengal in Kokrajhar on the Assam-West Bengal border on Friday night.
Bengal and Assam police on Saturday said the NDFB(S) gunmen stopped a Lakhimpur bound bus from Siliguri at Khagerghuri and fired from automatic guns after shoving off eight passengers. (PTI)
