Former Asom minister shot at, two security officers killed

Guwahati, May 9 (UNI) The ULFA today shot dead two personal security officers of former Asom minister and AGP candidate Pradeep Hazarika near Amguri in Sivsagar district, besides injuring him and three others seriously.

Sources said Mr Hazarika is out of danger but one of his security officer died on the spot while the other succumbed to injuries on his way to Dibrugarh.

Those injured are reportedly out of danger, the official report said.

The incident is one of the most audacious one in recent times and the political parties are apprehending another round of violence at the behest of the ULFA, just on the transition period, said the sources.

In the last 15 years, every successive government has been welcomed by barrage of violence in the state, an indication that it should not be any exception this time around.

According to reports received here, Mr Hazarika and his team of supporters and PSOs were travelling in a motorcycle convoy when they were fired upon by the ULFA from very close quarter, using automatic assault weapon.

The former Asom Minister and three other prominent AGP leaders figured on the recent issue of the ULFA mouthpiece, where they had once again pinpointed the quartet as mastermind behind the secret killings of ULFA members and their families during the previous Congress regime.

The motorcycle-borne militants fired from sophisticated weapons seriously injuring Hazarika on his jaw and left wrist, while his PSO was shot in his head, the sources said.

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