Guwahati : The toll in Tuesday’s militant attacks in Assam’s Kokrajhar and Sonitpur districts has risen to 40, officials said Wednesday.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh was expected to arrive here in the evening to take stock of the situation. He will be accompanied by Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju and is likely to visit the areas hit by the violence.
The Chief Minister’s Office here said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajnath Singh called up Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Tuesday night and assured all help to deal with the situation.
The anti-talk faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants fired indiscriminately at several places Tuesday killing 40 people.
The attacks began around 6.15 p.m. Tuesday, almost simultaneously.
The first attack took place at Pakhiriguri in Kokrajhar district of the Bodoland Territorial Area Districts (BTAD), where the militants killed four people and injured four.
In another attack at Ultapani, in the same district, they killed three people.
Police said 27 people were killed in Maitalubosti in Sonitpur district. The rebels also attacked Jungle Bosti village in the same district, killing six people.
“The toll is likely to increase as there are reports of more bodies being recovered from all the violence-affected areas,” a senior police official said.
An alert has been sounded across the state and adequate security measures are being taken, the official said.
The Assam government has also sealed its border with neighbouring Bhutan and Bangladesh to prevent the militants from crossing the international border after carrying out subversive activities