NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday strongly condemned the terror attack in Kokrajhar in Assam that claimed 14 lives and said the Home Ministry was monitoring the situation closely.
“The Home Ministry is in touch with the Assam Government & is monitoring the situation closely,” Modi tweeted.
According to Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay, AK-56 and 47 series rifles along with grenades were recovered from the spot, he said.
Home Minister Rajnath Singh chaired a high-level meeting following the terror attack.
The meeting was attended by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, National Security Advisor A K Doval and other officials. The meeting took stock of the situation in Assam and Kashmir where life has remained paralysed for the last 27 days after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Burhan Wani.
Later in the day, Singh had another round of 30-minute meeting with Doval where he was apprised about the Kokrajhar attack.
Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal warned that the militants would be dealt with very sternly. “We will not tolerate any threat from any group. The government will not bow to any pressure while tackling terrorist groups,” an official statement quoting the Chief Minister said. Home Minister also spoke to Sonowal about the attack and said his ministry was monitoring the situation. Sonowal, who was in Delhi, rushed back to Assam after the attack. The Assam CM announced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 5 lakh to the next of kin of the dead, Rs 1 lakh to the seriously injured and Rs 20,000 to those who sustained minor injuries.