Six people, including a one-and-half-year-old baby, were killed and 20 others injured in a powerful explosion near the Machkhowa vegetable market, suspected to be the handiwork of the United Liberation Front of Asom (Ulfa), in Guwahati on Saturday.
The blast occurred hours before the Asian Athletic Grand Prix meet was kicked off at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati on Saturday.
Over 200 athletes and officials from 19 Asian countries are participating in the second leg of grand prix meet, organised by the Asian Athletics Association.
The bomb was placed on a bicycle parked in front of the mosque adjacent to the Machkhowa market, police said. Four people were killed on the spot and one succumbed to his injuries on the way to the Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH), police added.
State DGP RN Mathur said, “The blast, of a high magnitude, was an Improvised explosive device (IED).” Secretary General of the Asian Athletic Federation, Lalit Bhanot, said, “This kind of violence is not going to hamper the spirits of the athletes.”
Though the DGP declined to name any outfit behind the explosion, he said the police suspect Ulfa behind this.
Though the DGP declined to name any outfit behind the explosion, he said the police suspect Ulfa behind this.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke to Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi on Saturday to convey his condolences to the families of the blast victims.