Prompt evacuation by police saves many people : Eyewitness

Siliguri, Oct 30 (UNI) Prompt evacuation by Assam police saved many injured from possible death, a survivor here today said.

Mahadev Dutta, an eyewitness to the blasts at Kokrajhar in lower Assam, nearly fainted after seeing his two uncles lying half-dead with no help forthcoming at Kokrajhar's Sabji mandi.

'' I lost my good senses as thoughts revolving my mind whether to flee the blast site to save myself or to evacuate my two uncles, who were profusely bleeding, '' Dutta told reporters here.

Duttas of Burrabazar have a confectionary shop at Sabji mandi, a place where insurgents find an easy target to terrorise business people of different parts of the country.

'' I first heard an ear-spliting sound at 1115 hours with huge black smoke spewing towards the sky and blood stained people lying down on the floor. Before coming to senses, another blast occurred immediately and I saw my uncles Shanti Dutta (44) and Anil Dutta (41) falling flat with blood oozing all around, '' Mahadev, who rushed here with injured uncles to admit them in a nursing home, said.

With everybody running helter-skelter and cries of the injured renting the air, policemen with hooters arrived to evacuate people like ''God-sent angels'', Mahadev Dutta said.

Meanwhile, seven injured from Kokrajhar arrived here for treatment. While three were admitted to a nursing home in Siliguri, four were taken to Coochbehar's nursing home.

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