By IANS,
New Delhi : Home Minister Shivraj Patil Thursday condemned the serial blasts in Assam that have killed at least 61 people and left over 300 injured as a team of National Security Guards (NSG) was rushed to the northeastern state to collect forensic evidence.
“A post-blast team of NSG is reaching Assam shortly. The state government has been requested to send a detailed report and strengthen the security measures in the affected and vulnerable areas,” Patil said in a press statement.
“We are in close touch with the Assam government and will extend all possible help to them to nab the culprits at the earliest,” he added.
In a related development, Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta spoke to Assam Chief Secretary P.C. Sharma and said the situation was being closely monitored.
The blasts were on top of the agenda at a pre-scheduled meeting of the cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday evening. Manmohan Singh represents Assam in the Rajya Sabha.
At least 61 people were killed and over 300 injured as a series of carefully coordinated bombings ripped through busy markets in Guwahati and other areas of Assam. Targetted terror strikes in India have claimed over 400 lives since 2006.
The 12 bombings, one of the worst strikes in Assam, went off in less than an hour in Guwahati as well as in the western districts of Barpeta, Kokrajhar and Bongaigaon.