Asom gets tough, blame game begins

Guwahati, Nov 6 (UNI) Asom today pledged a ''frontal assault'' on ULFA for yesterday's twin blasts which claimed 14 lives, while Union Home Secretary V K Duggal rushed here to take stock of the law and order machinery.

Mr V K Duggal arrived here from New Delhi this evening and met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi. According to official sources, Mr Duggal accused the Asom Police of not cooperating with others.

Before his arrival, the Unified Command of Asom under the Chairmanship of Chief Secretary S K Kabilan met to review the ground situation where according to senior official sources, the Army openly charged police with not cooperating in the counter insurgency operations.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi rushed back to Asom, cutting short his Delhi trip. He went straight to the bomb blast affected areas. Just an hour before his visit, Governor Lt. General Ajay Singh visited the area. Mr Gogoi admitted serious security lapses.

Meanwhile, the toll has gone up to 14 with a one-year-old baby breathing her last this afternoon.

The source said the Army was particularly peeved as they had provided written intelligence input to the police five days back about the impending strike in a market area of Guwahati city.

The source said the army made it clear that it had brought down the ULFA activities to manageable level but in urban areas the Asom Police had given them a free run.

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