AGP leader shot at

Unidentified gunmen fired at senior AGP leader and former state transport minister Pradip Hazarika at Namti in Sivasagar district. Police suspect ULFA to be behind the attack.

Police said Hazarika was shot at a village near Namti under his Amguri Assembly constituency as he was riding on a motorcycle. One of his two PSOs died on the spot. Hazarika (50), who sustained serious injuries on his right shoulder, has been shifted to the Assam Medical College Hospital at Dibrugarh. Doctors at AMCH have declared him out of danger, but one of the other injured is said to be in a critical state.

In Guwahati, IG (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma said though no group has claimed responsibility, they suspect it to be the handiwork of the ULFA. ‘‘The ULFA had recently issued a statement naming Hazarika and others for their alleged anti-ULFA stand,’’ Sharma said.