ULFA(I) Claims Bomb Threats Across Assam, Security Forces on High Alert

The banned ULFA(I) claimed it planted bombs at 24 locations in Assam, prompting security forces to dispatch bomb disposal squads. An email from the group listed 19 bomb locations, urging public cooperation in defusing them. Searches are ongoing, with no confirmed recoveries reported yet.

The banned ULFA(I) on Thursday claimed to have planted bombs at 24 places across Assam, prompting security forces to scramble teams to defuse potential explosives.

A senior police officer stated that bomb disposal squads were rushed to all the areas mentioned by ULFA (I), though no bombs or explosives have been recovered so far.

In an email reportedly from the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) (Independent) to various media houses, including PTI, the militant group asserted that the bombs did not detonate due to technical issues.

The email detailed the exact locations of 19 bombs and mentioned five more sites, requesting public assistance in defusing the bombs.

When contacted, a senior Assam Police officer confirmed that all district SPs, particularly those listed by the anti-peace talk faction of ULFA, have been alerted and instructed to conduct thorough searches.

''Bomb disposal squads, metal detectors, and sniffer dogs have been deployed to every location. We have yet to recover any bombs,'' the officer noted.

However, local police in Nagaon, Lakhimpur, and Sivasagar reported finding some ''bomb-like materials'' in the identified locations.

Among the 24 locations, eight are in Guwahati, including an open field near the residences of Assam's Chief Minister and other ministers.

Additionally, places like Satgaon road towards the Army cantonment, Ashram Road, Panbazar, Jorabat, Bhetapara, Maligaon, and Rajgarh have been flagged as potential bomb sites.

Other districts, such as Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Tinsukia, and Golaghat, were also mentioned in the threat.

Police have cordoned off all roads surrounding the identified areas, with senior officials actively monitoring the ongoing search operations.

(With inputs from agencies.)