New Delhi: A day after four blasts ripped through Assam, killing eight people and injuring close to 60, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to go ahead with his visit to the state.
Manmohan Singh, who represents Assam in Rajya Sabha, will address public meetings in state Captial Dispur and in Dibrugarh as scheduled, marking his entry into the poll campaign trail.
Rebel outfit United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) claimed responsibility for the attacks that came a day before the outfit’s 30th 'foundation day'.
Assam DGP G M Srivastav said seven people were killed and 56 injured when a powerful bomb blast went off in a crowded market in Maligaon in the state capital at around 1400 hrs IST.
The explosion sparked a fire that set ablaze two cars and 20 motorcycles and spread to a three-storey building housing the area police station.
Six were killed at the blast site while one succumbed to injuries after jumping from an adjacent building which had caught fire.
The bomb is suspected to have been hidden in a car or a motorcycle parked adjacent to the North-East Frontier railway headquarters.
Complete chaos prevailed in the area with people protesting over repeated blasts in the city. Some protestors even attacked the police and their vehicles. Traffic was thrown out of gear with hundreds of vehicles stranded.
In the evening around 1900 hrs IST, an unidentified youth lobbed a hand grenade at Mankachar police station in Dhubri district killing a police driver and injuring another.
Dhekiajuli in Northern Assam's Sonitpur district and Jengpha in Central Assam's Karci Anglong district were also hit by bomb explosions.
This is the first election meeting Manmohan Singh will address since he underwent a bypass surgery in January.
(With inputs from PTI)
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