GUWAHATI: Acting on a tip-off Assam Police on Monday recovered a huge quantity of explosive materials from a bus at the Basistha crossing on the National Highway by-pass at the south of the city and arrested two persons in this connection. The explosives were recovered from a bus bound for Goalpara in western Assam.
Police informed that it was a special operation conducted on the basis of specific input under the supervision of Superintendent Police (Crime) Sudhakar Singh. Police recovered 400 gelatin sticks and 240 packets of explosives.
The two arrested persons were identified as Ajijur Rahman and Bahar Ali, both hail from Goalpara district in western Assam.
The explosives haul happened in the wake of Assam police sounding a statewide alert on the eve of Durga Puja festival that gets underway on Tuesday. The police apprehend threat from militant groups and fundamental elements. The police headquarter here has cancelled leave applications of all police officials who sought leave during puja days.
Meanwhile, all puja organising committees in the state have been issued specific guidelines by the police force in respect of measures to be taken for facilitating safe celebration of Durga puja festival. The organizers of puja have been asked to install CCTV cameras, set up proper barricades and install basic firefighting equipment. Some of the puja venues located in vulnerable and densely populated areas have been asked to install metal detectors too.
The puja organisers have been asked to engage sufficient number of volunteers in close coordination with local police stations.
The security has been especially tightened in Guwahati, the main city of the region, which was targeted by terror groups on several occasions in the past. Additional personnel from Assam Police armed battalions have been pooled in by Guwahati city police to tide over its manpower shortage during the puja rush.
Puja is being organised in 424 venues in Guwahati city, the highest among all the urban centres in the state. All he puja organizing committees are asked to maintain close coordination with the local police stations. Police have mounted vigil all over the city and at all the entry and exit points to and from the city in order to prevent any untoward incident during the days of festivities.