Three ULFA shot dead, more blasts, arms recovered

Guwahati, Jan 19 (UNI) The security forces gunned down three senior LFA militants, even as two blasts rocked Asom in the last 24-hours injuring four.

In a day of fast paced developments, the security forces made big inroads in their counter offensive, but not before ULFA triggered two bombs in Guwahati and Lakwa in Upper Asom respectively.

There were four injuries in Guwahati and in Lakwa the explosion damaged a crude pipeline.

The Army top brass operating in Asom today had a crucial meeting at Narengi base of the army to review the situation. The meeting was chaired by GOC 4 Corps Lt Gen R K Chhabra, and attended by top level Army Officers.

Representative of Arunachal Pradesh Police, Meghalaya Police, CRPF, BSF and Assam Police.

The army earlier in the evening killed three ULFA mid-level leaders from Mahadevpur village of Tinsukia district, while police near Digboi unearthed a huge cache of explosives.

The security force found more success when they arrested top ULFA leader Dhruva Kujur. Tinsukia District's Superintendent of Police Prasanta Bhuyan said Kujur, arrested from an area under Makum police station, confessed to having planned the attack in Longswal with four of his associates on January 4.

Police in Tinsukia conducted a search at Mamoroni village and unearthed a huge amount of arms and explosives of ULFA from the house of 'link-man' Pilingia Moran, Bhuyan said.

Two kg of TNT, capable of making 17 powerful bombs, 2 huge remote-controlled explosive devices, 17 detonators and some fuse wire were seized by police.

Meanwhile, Guwahati saw one more explosion this evening in the busy Adabari area injuring at least three. The bomb was lobbed by two-wheeler riding ULFA ultras.

On the other hand, earlier in the day there was another powerful bomb blast near Lakwa of Sivsagar district of Upper Asom. The crude pipeline belonging to the ONGC caught fire immediately setting ablaze 14 nearby houses and eight shops. However, there were no casualty in the blast.

A day after the ULFA issued a fresh warning against Hindi speaking people to leave Asom, Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi said Asom is for every Indian and ULFA has no right to talk on behalf of Assamese people.

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

UNI