Four killed in Guwahati blast, eight injured

Guwahati, Jun 9 (UNI) At least four vegetable vendors were killed and eight others injured, two of them critically, when a powerful bomb, supposedly planted by the ULFA, exploded in a crowded market this evening.

Guwahati Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Nitul Gogoi confirmed the casualty number, saying two of the injured were in serious condition.

The bomb went off at around 1620 hours in the crowded Mackhowa vegetable market, the main wholesale vegetable market of the city.

The bomb was hidden inside a vegetable bag and it went off at a time when the traders were winding up.

All those killed were vegetable vendors but they have not yet been identified.

The injured were shifted to Guwahati Medical College (GMCH), where two were battling for life.

This happened to be the fifth bomb blast since last evening. In a trademark style, ULFA activists lobbed grenades at four places -- Nagaoan, Mangaldoi, Dhubri and Golokganj--last evening between 1930 and 2100 hrs.

In every incident, a police patrol had been targeted but only civilians were injured. Fortunately there were no casualties.

Meanwhile, the third round of talks between the Centre and the ULFA interlocutors here on June 22 is expected to pave the way for direct negotiations with the outlawed organisation.

The 11-member group of interlocutors (People's Consultative Group (PCG) has already had two rounds of talks with the Centre in October 2005 and February 2006. While the first round was chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the second was held under the leadership of National Security Advisor M K Narayanan.

The June 22 meeting would be chaired by Home Minister Shivraj Patil amid expectation that it would succeed in sorting out some of the important issues, including the release of five prominent ULFA leaders from prison.

The effort of the peace emissaries would be to bring the ULFA face-to-face with the government so that they could resolve other outstanding issues through direct talks.

UNI MT SJC VD HT1852