Blasts in Guwahati, violence continues in Asom

Guwahati, Jan 19 (UNI) Two blasts ripped through Asom today, injuring three people, on a day when the security forces made inroads in their counter-insurgency offensives in Upper Asom.

The state capital witnessed more explosions this evening when a bomb exploded at the busy Adabari area, injuring at least three people. The bomb was lobbed by ULFA ultras.

Earlier in the day, another powerful bomb went off near Lakwa of Sivsagar district of Upper Asom. The crude pipeline belonging to the ONGC caught fire, destroying 14 houses and eight shops. However, there were no reports of any casualty.

The security forces also picked up a top ULFA leader who was behind the recent massacre and also unearthed a huge cache of explosives allegedly to be used during the run-up to the Republic Day.

The arrested leader was identified as Dhurva Kurzu, the mastermind behind the Longsoal killing of Tinsukia, where 13 migrant Bihari labourers were killed.

In a separate incident, police also unearthed arms from Mamorani village near Digboi. The arms included two kilograms of TNT, two IEDs, two bombs, and 17 detonators.

Meanwhile, flaying the ULFA's recent ''directive'' to Hindi-speaking people to leave the state, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi today said ''Asom was for every Indian'' and the ULFA had no right to talk on behalf of the Assamese people.

Addressing a news conference, he asserted that both the Centre and the Asom government were taking tough actions to neutralise the militant organisation and said ''sovereignty is non-negotiable''.

''We are ready to discuss development, but not for sovereignty.

The ULFA should not build castle in the air. For Assamese, sovereignty is not an issue, but development is,'' he said.

The Assam Sahitya Sabha (ASS) today asserted that Asom was an ''inseparable'' part of the country and demands of ''sovereignty'' were misplaced, adding the peace parleys between the government and the ULFA had been 'vague discussions'.

UNI