MLA survives attack, BJP leader killed

Guwahati, Dec 14 (UNI) An Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) MLA miraculously survived a grenade attack while a former BJP national level leader was shot dead in separate incidents as the violence in Assam continued unabated since last night.

According to official source late last night, the AGP MLA Padma Hazarika survived with serious injuries, when suspected Bodo militants ambushed his vehicle at Hazarimal near Tezpur.

The militants threw grenades and then opened fire on the vehicle of the MLA who was returning alone through the National Highway after taking part in the Panchayat election preparation.

However Mr. Hazarika managed to drive the vehicle for some distance and then abandoned the vehicle and managed to escape through nearby paddy field. The militants followed the vehicle and burnt it down.

The MLA with heavy splinter injuries was recovered by the people who then rushed him to the Tezpur civil hospital. from theer he was transferred to the Army Base Hospital. The doctors removed all the splinters from leg, hand and back and said he was out of danger.

Mr Hazarika is a popular MLA in the area and the angry crowds have blocked the National Highway. The police suspected a hand of radical Bodo militants with whom the MLA is at loggerheads.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, unidentified militants killed veteran BJP leader Munindra Singh Laskar at his Rangia residence last night.

He was at home talking with his business associate when the militants walked into his house and shot him dead. Laskar was a senior BJP and RSS functionary before he fell out and quit the party.

The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), shocked over the attack on his MLA, is meeting the Governor Lt Gen Ajay Sinha demanding immediate intervention of him alleging that Congress government had failed to maintain the law and order situation in the state.

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