F
Digital Desk: Fourteen years have passed since
the heinous serial blasts that shook Assam on October 30, 2008.
After the Mumbai bombings in 1993 and
the train bombings in the same city in 2006, it remains India's third-largest
bomb attack.
On this day, nine serial explosions
at Ganeshguri, Pan Bazaar, and the CJM court complex in Guwahati, Kokrajhar,
Bongaigaon, and Barpeta Road were carried out by the Ranjan Daimary-led faction
of the NDFB. Several people were injured as a result of the violence.
The bombings in Guwahati tore apart
various places across the city, Pan Bazar, Fancy Bazar, as well as Ganeshguri, which were already crowded with shoppers and office-goers who had to face the wrath
of the evil-minded. Three explosions occurred in Kokrajhar, with another
possible grenade explosion; one in Bongaigaon and two in Barpeta Road.
The bomb in Ganeshguri was positioned in
a car and exploded about 100 meters from the official residence of then-Assam
Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi.
In the past, rebel groups had never
before used such massive quantities of explosives. The forensic investigations
revealed that approximately 25-30 kilograms of RDX were used in each car bomb
in Guwahati and were blended with ammonium nitrate as the feed material.
Just after the attack, the state
government circulated a high alert notice across and deployed paramilitary forces
to control a potentially volatile situation
Ranjan Daimary, former chief of the
National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB-R), was sentenced to life in prison
for his role in the bombings by an Assam court last month. Four of Daimary's
accomplices were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 5-7 years under the
Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act for their roles in the bombings.
Dr. Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister of Assam, paid tribute to the victims of the heinous act of terrorism.
The 30th of October is remembered as a dark day in Assam history, when a series of blasts ripped apart the state, killing hundreds of people.
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