ULFA(I) claims to plant 24 bombs across Assam; searching operation on

Guwahati: The banned ULFA(I) on Thursday claimed to have planted bombs at 24 places across Assam, prompting the security forces to send teams to look for explosives.

A senior police officer said bomb disposal squads have been rushed to all the places mentioned by ULFA (I) but there is no report of recovery of any bomb or explosive.

In an email purportedly from the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Independent) to media houses, including PTI, the terror outfit asserted that the bombs did not blast due to "technical failure".

It gave a list identifying the exact location of 19 bombs and said locations of five more explosives could not be ascertained. It sought public cooperation in defusing the bombs.

When contacted, a senior officer at Assam Police headquarters told PTI that all the SPs of the districts, especially those mentioned in the list by the anti-peace talk faction of ULFA, have been alerted and asked to carry out a thorough search of the areas.

"Bomb disposal squads, metal detectors and sniffer dogs have been dispatched to every location. So far we have not got any information on recovery of bombs," he added.

However, some local police officials in Nagaon, Lakhimpur and Sivasagar claimed that they have recovered some "bomb-like materials" from the spots.

Out of the 24 locations, eight places are in Guwahati. These include an open field at Last Gate in Dispur, near Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and other ministers' official residences.

Another place is the Satgaon road towards the Army cantonment in Narengi in Guwahati. Apart from these, Ashram Road, Panbazar, Jorabat, Bhetapara, Maligaon and Rajgarh in the capital city have also been mentioned as the spots of bombs.

Places have been named in Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Tinsukia and Golaghat districts also where ULFA(I) claimed to have planted bombs.

Police have closed all roads in and around the places mentioned in the mail. Senior police officials have rushed to all the places and are monitoring the search operations.