ULFA leader’s brother shot dead, Assam Govt sounds red alert

The youths, with automatic weapons, raided the house and fired at Choudhury from point-blank range and fled.

In another incident, unidentified youths attacked the Ghograpara residence of ULFA member Babul Sarmah who was in charge of the outfit’s medical unit in a Bhutan camp, the sources said.

The youths opened fire on the house but no one was injured. They escaped immediately.

Earlier on Wednesday, the house of ULFA’commander-in-Chief’ Paresh Barua’s house was attacked by unidentified gunmen but no one was injured.

Meanwhile, the Assam government has sounded a red alert as army and paramilitary forces launched operations throughout the state in the aftermath of last night’s killing of 28 Hindi-speaking people, official sources said here today.

The Government ordered security forces to maintain a strict vigil, specially along the international border and authorised deputy commissioners to take steps as and when required to contain violence, the sources said.

The deputy commissioners have been asked to impose night curfew along the international border if the situation warrants, they said.

Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta rushed to New Delhi during the day to take up with the Centre the issue of sending more paramilitary forces to the state to contain the situation.

“ISI, in league with the ULFA, is targetting the Hindi-speaking people in Assam to create terror. The government is determined to stop the menace,” Mahanta said before leaving for the capital.

Ministers Chandra Mohan Patowary and Jagdish Bhuyan, Additional Director General of Police (operation) G M Srivastava, top army officials besides, Tinsukia deputy commissioner and superintendent of police have rushed to the spot, the sources added.

Twenty-eight people were massacred by ULFA militants when they were returning from the Sonpura Bazaar in Arunachal Pradesh in three trucks to their home in Sadiya, sources said.

The incident took place three km inside Assam in a densely-wooded area along the border with Arunachal Pradesh, where militants lying in wait fired a hail of bullets on the hapless victims.

The toll rose following the death of one of the victims in the early hours on way to the Tinsukia civil hospital, the sources said.

Fifteen others were injured, some of them seriously in the incident, which came just a week after the outfit butchered 22 persons at Bongaigaon, Karbu Anglong and Nalbari districts.

A total 98 people, mostly Hindi-speaking have been killed by ULFA and NDFB militants in eight strikes since October 21.