NSUI, Youth Cong surface in Guwahati hotel blast case

Guwahati: Names of leaders of the students’ and youth wings of the ruling Congress in Assam have been embroiled in a mysterious blast at a sealed hotel of Garchuk area in Guwahati on Sunday evening.
While preliminary police investigation claimed that no explosives were used in the blast, sensational revelation by the owner of the hotel that NSUI and Youth Congress leaders had demanded money from him, have added a new dimension to the incident.
Guwahati Police Commissioner Jyotirmoy Chakraborty, speaking to reporters after visiting the hotel Monday morning, said it appeared that the blast and fire were initiated from inside the hotel and not by any object or explosive hurled from the outside.
‘It could have been a case of gas leakage or short circuit or something similar. As of now, we have not found any trace of explosives. Forensic experts are ascertaining what caused the fire,’ he said.
Chakraborty said the police has not yet received any complain of any money being demanded from the hotel owner.
A blast had rocked the lower floors of Hotel Nezone at around 2100 hrs Sunday, damaging the multi-storied building, and injuring a person passing near the hotel.
The hotel was recently sealed by the Guwahati Municipal Corporation for flouting regulations and was yet to be reopened.
The hotel owner has claimed that three members of NSUI and Youth Congress had been in touch with him and demanded Rs 13 lakh to get him back the trade licence to reopen his hotel. (UNI)