A bomb scare followed by frantic search operations marred the 78th Independence Day celebrations in Assam on Thursday. Director General of Police (DGP) Gyanendra Pratap Singh has said that the police are carrying out extensive search operations and "suspicious articles" have been recovered in Guwahati and at other parts of the state.
Singh informed that the bomb disposal squad opened two such articles found in Guwahati at different places. "These articles do not have ignition device inside through some circuits and batteries are seen. The substance inside is being sent for forensic/chemical examination. (sic)," he said.
Similar articles have also been recovered at Lakhimpur, Sivasagar, Nalbari and Nagaon which have been disposed of safely, the Assam DGP stated on social media.
Notably, the banned militant outfit United Liberation Front of Asom-Independent (ULFA-I) today said in emails sent to the media that scheduled blasts between 6 am and 12 noon could not be carried out due to technical glitches. Keeping "public safety" in mind, ULFA-I said that the bomb sites have been made public as a precautionary measure.
Moreover, they requested local residents to assist in locating and deactivating the explosives.
Here are the 19 locations mentioned by ULFA-I where the bombs were planted:
| Sl No | Locations |
|---|---|
| 1 | An old car at the DTO office in Sivasagar |
| 2 | An old ambulance at Sivasagar BG Road, Gate No 5 |
| 3 | Lakwa Tiniali, near the police station |
| 4 | An old bus at Assam State Transport Corporation, Dibrugarh |
| 5 | An old bus at Assam State Transport Corporation, Lakhimpur |
| 6 | An old car of NHPC at Parade Ground, near the Superintendent of Police, Lakhimpur |
| 7 | Laluk Daily Market, near IB |
| 8 | An old car covered with trees near Borghat police station |
| 9 | A brick kiln near Aditya Hospital on the way to Nagaon Medical College |
| 10 | The open ground opposite Dispur Lastgate |
| 11 | The transformer board box on the left side of the road leading up to Gandhi Mandap |
| 12 | Buried near CDA Gate on the way to road connecting Narengi Army Camp |
| 13 | Under a small stall while crossing Brahmaputra Udyog Pvt Ltd, Panbazar, Guwahati |
| 14 | Near Jorabat Flyover |
| 15 | Bhetapara |
| 16 | Maligaon |
| 17 | Rajgarh |
| 18 | Inside an old ambulance along the road leading to Nalbari Old Medical |
| 19 | In the vacant area near the first shop after passing the SBI Welcome Board on Rangia-Tamulpur Road at Goreshwar Chowk, Tamulpur |
Meanwhile, the exact for two spots in Tinsukia, one in Dibrugarh, and two in Golaghat's Sarupathar could not be confirmed.