GUWAHATI, Oct 13 - Amidst heightened security in view of the ensuing Durga Puja, four persons were wounded after an explosion took place near Sukreswar Ghat at around 11:45 am today triggering panic across the State.
Immediately after the blast, security arrangements were reviewed in and around all the marketplaces, along with other vital installations in the State.
Today�s blast has once again cast aspersions on intelligence gathering mechanism of the law enforcers, especially vis-a-vis the ensuing Durga Puja and the subsequent One Day International cricket match to be played in Guwahati on October 21.
Meanwhile, the banned outfit ULFA has claimed responsibility for the blast.
The explosion took place beside the footpath of the MG Road that runs parallel to the river Brahmaputra, close to Fancy Bazar, the commercial hub of the State. The blast damaged the wall adjacent to the footpath and the impact of the explosion could be seen in the close proximity.
The injured persons, including a woman, were rushed to the Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital nearby. Identified as Kalpajyoti Talukdar (23), Sanku Das (42), Binita Das (33) and Taifuddin Ahmed (33), their condition is said to be stable.
Onlookers claim that they heard a deafening sound and the intensity of the explosion was such that it completely shook the entire area.
Director General of Assam Police Kuladhar Saikia, after inspecting the blast site, told media-persons that the investigators are yet to make out the nature of explosives that led to the blast.
�Our team is working on it and we will soon find out whether the explosion was remote-controlled or it was a timer device,� Saikia said.
Asked whether there was any specific input about any banned outfit trying to resort to subversive acts, the Assam Police chief said although there were no specific inputs about any plan, there were feelers coming about the movement of some militants.
Reacting to ULFA�s claim, Saikia said that they are on the job to identify the forces behind the act.
Ballistic experts from the Forensic Science Laboratory here also inspected the spot and collected samples from the blast site for examination.
A team of Indian Army also reached the spot and collected samples from the site.
The husband-wife duo of Sanku Das and Binita Das, who are residents of the Maligaon area, said they were heading towards Fancy Bazar for puja shopping and just when they were taking a U-turn on the MG Road, something blew them off.
�For a few minutes, we could not realise what exactly hit us, such was the intensity of the explosion,� the couple said.
