GUWAHATI: The recovery of two IEDs in Guwahati in less than 48 hours ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Assam has made the authorities to tighten security across Assam.
The IEDs, planted at two busy areas of the city allegedly by the Paresh Baruah faction of insurgent group United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), were recovered by the police on Wednesday night.
Modi is expected to land at the Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport in Guwahati at around 11 am on Friday and from there, he will fly to Kokrajhar in a chopper.
The IEDs may have been recovered in Guwahati, around 225 km east of Kokrajhar, but the authorities are not taking any chances as evident from their sounding an alert across the state. Insurgent groups in the Northeast usually try to carry out subversive activities ahead of the visit of a VVIP, ostensibly to make their presence felt.
The IEDs were recovered based on the statement given by an arrested ULFA rebel. The time for explosion was set for Thursday morning.
Additional Director General of Police, GP Singh, tweeted, “@GhtyCityPolice has made significant recovery of IEDs from Panbazar and Paltanbazar area. These were planted by ULFA to vitiate the peaceful environment in the state. We remain alert to evil designs of nefarious elements”.
Modi would visit Kokrajhar to take part in the celebration of signing of the third Bodo Accord among Centre, Assam government, four factions of insurgent group National Democratic Front of Bodoland, All Bodo Students’ Union and United Bodo People’s Organisation last month in New Delhi.
Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, along with Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, visited Kokrajhar on Wednesday and reviewed the preparation of the programme which is likely to be attended by over one lakh people. Sonowal described as historic both the Bodo Accord and the PM’s visit.
Bodo leaders are optimistic that the Centre will implement all that have been committed through the Accord in a time-bound manner.