By IANS,
Guwahati : Suspected ULFA hardliners Thursday planted a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) near a police station in Assam’s Darrang district but it was detected in time and safely defused, police said.
The incident at Mangaldai police station follows a grenade attack at Kakopathar police station in Tinsukia district late Wednesday. The grenade, however, failed to explode as militants failed to remove its safety pin.
Militants had attacked the Namtola police station and injured a policeman in Sibsagar district Tuesday.
Additional Director General of Assam Police (Law and Order) A.P. Raut termed the recent efforts of the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) militants as desperate attempts to prove their existence, and said that all the necessary precautions have been taken to ensure smooth conduct of the Republic Day celebrations across the state.
“All the necessary deployment have been done in all the vital installations as well as at the railway and bus terminuses across the state to foil the attempts of the outfit,” he said.
Raut pointed out that the militants in their desperation have been trying to use IEDs and grenades for carrying out subversive activities in the state since the oast few years.
“The security forces have recovered 110 IEDs from militants last year, and a total of 163 grenades. The number of IEDs recovered in 2011 was 89 and 110 grenades,” he said, and added that the security forces have also recovered 443 arms and 9,320 rounds of ammunition from militants last year.
“Security forces have also killed 53 insurgents last year compared to 46 in 2011,” Raut said.
Meanwhile, the state police have sounded a red alert in Jorhat district following information that ULFA militants have entered the district to carry out explosions in the run-up to the Republic Day.
There were intelligence reports that the ULFA faction opposed to peace talks will try to carry out subversive activities in the run-up to the Republic Day celebrations. The outfit along with a few other militant groups has also called for a boycott of the Jan 26 celebrations.