GUWAHATI, Dec 15: The banned insurgent group Ulfa-Independent has claimed responsibility for a bomb blast near an army camp in the eastern Assam district of Jorhat.
The explosion occurred on Thursday evening near the army’s 41 Sub Area unit at Lisubari.
In a statement emailed to various media organizations on Friday morning, Rumel Asom, a member of Ulfa-I’s publicity wing, asserted that the group orchestrated the attack as a protest against Assam Director General of Police (DGP) GP Singh’s characterization of the Ulfa conflict as a mere law and order issue.
“The conflict is political and it can be ended politically only. But the DGP GP Singh is directly or indirectly trying to label our long struggle as a law and order issue,” stated the Ulfa-I release.
The insurgent group clarified that the blast was not intended to target the state police forces, signaling a focused agenda against the military presence in the region.
This incident marks the third such blast attributed to Ulfa-I since November. In the previous months, similar explosions took place near army installations in the neighboring Tinsukia and Sivasagar districts. The recent attack raises concerns over the security situation in the Jorhat, Tinsukia, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, and Charaideo districts, which are still considered strongholds of Ulfa-I.
Notably, the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) was recently extended in the four districts, reflecting the ongoing security challenges faced by the authorities in eastern Assam.
The incident has prompted heightened security measures and a renewed focus on addressing the underlying political issues contributing to the conflict between Ulfa-I and the government. The situation remains fluid, with ongoing investigations to apprehend those responsible for the latest attack.
