By IANS
Guwahati : At least six people were injured in a powerful explosion in Assam Tuesday as militants stepped up attacks ahead of Republic Day, officials said.
A police spokesperson said the blast took place at Srirampur, a town on the Assam-West Bengal border, about 400 km west of the state’s main city Guwahati.
“The bomb was probably kept on a parked bicycle and it went off near a government office,” a police official said over the phone.
The injured, most of them bystanders, were shifted to a local hospital with multiple wounds. Police suspect that the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) was behind the attack.
“There was a second bomb found near the area which was later defused,” the official said.
Late on Monday, there was an explosion in the western Bongaigaon district although there were no casualties.
Several militant groups, including the ULFA, have called for a boycott of Republic Day celebrations.
In the run-up to such national celebrations, militants step up attacks targeting vital installations and security forces, besides carrying out explosions to make their presence felt.