Those who thought that the ULFA menace in Assam had tapered off are in for a rude shock. At least 17 persons were injured when suspected anti-talks militants lobbed a grenade in front of a police station in the heart of Guwahati. The militants had targeted the police. The injured included three girl students from a school in North Bengal. Assam’s Health Minister, Himanta Biswa Sarma had come to the city to attend a sports tournament. That seemed to be the occasion. This is the third incident of this type in less than a week and it is a new strategy adopted by militant ULFA cadres.
The Opposition has criticized the Congress-led government in Dispur for the series of explosions. It alleges that the government has failed to protect the lives of common people. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has said that there were intelligence inputs that the ULFA would strike and this was emphasized by AGP President Prafulla Kumar Mahanta. The CM has said that security has been strengthened across the state. He had cancelled his trip to South Africa as trouble is anticipated in Assam on Independence Day. Some time ago Gogoi had said that militancy in Assam had been more or less wiped out. It flies in the face of reason that talks with the pro-peace faction of the ULFA led by Arabinda Rajkhowa had not got past the stage of finalizing modalities. The government seems totally incapable of tracking down Paresh Barua and disarming his anti-talks following. It is not clear what percentage of ULFA cadres still belongs to the gun-toting section. As long as these issues remain unsettled, Assam’s economic development will be thwarted.
