Republic Day: After seven blasts rock Assam, CM Sarbananda Sonowal says fight against insurgency will continue

Guwahati: Assam chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Thursday said the government will continue to fight insurgency and people of the state are united against it. “We will continue our fight against insurgency and the security forces are carrying out their operations against the militants,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the official Republic Day function here following the serial blasts by ULFA (Independent) across upper Assam.

I strongly condemn the blasts in upper Assam today; the perpetrators will be brought to justice at the earliest.

— Sarbananda Sonowal (@sarbanandsonwal) January 26, 2017

[caption id=“attachment_3221884” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Sarbananda Sonowal. Image courtesy: Twitter[/caption] “People of the state are united against militancy despite the militants triggering serial blasts in the state today. People have given us a clear mandate that they are for peace in the state. They want a militancy-free Assam. “No violence can affect people’s desire for peace. People across Assam will unitedly stand against violence,” Sonowal said. Serial blasts by ULFA (Independent) shook upper Assam today as the state was celebrating Republic Day. Bombs were detonated in Charaidow, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts. No casualty or damage to property have been reported so far, police said. The improvised explosive devices were of low intensity and were exploded to register the presence of the militant outfit, police added. Assam Director General of Police Mukesh Sahay sent a strong message to extremist outfits and said: “We accept the challenge of militants. We on our part will continue to be alert and security forces will continue with their operation against insurgents.” “Our security measures are in place and we will continue with the operations,” he told reporters allaying fears following the blasts triggered by anti-tal ULFA(I). “There is no cause for concern. The blasts were of low intensity. They happened in abandoned places … In tanks and open spaces. No one was injured,” he said. Asserting that Republic Day official functions across the state were held peacefully amid high security bandobast, the DGP said, “There was large participation of the public in the Republic Day functions. People’s blessings are with us.”