Warned cops day before blasts: Gogoi

Assam CM Tarun Gogoi has claimed that on Oct 29 8212; a day before serial blasts rocked Guwahati and three other towns in Assam 8212; he had asked the police not to be complacent.

Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has claimed that on October 29 8212; a day before serial blasts rocked Guwahati and three other towns in Assam 8212; he had asked the police not to be complacent.

8220;A day before the blasts, I had told the police officers not to be complacent just because the festival season had passed off peacefully,8221;

Gogoi told a press conference on Sunday 8212; the first after Thursday8217;s blasts that have claimed 80 lives so far.

Gogoi has now sought a detailed report on what steps were taken after he had warned the police. 8220;Major changes are definitely going to take place in the police,8221; the Chief Minister said, apparently hinting at action over negligence on the part of the police.

On September 27, Gogoi had told a press conference that threat to Assam from the jehadi groups, including Harkat-ul-Mujahideen HuM, was 8220;real8221; and 8220;serious8221;.

A day before, on September 26, the Army had gunned down seven HuJI terrorists in Dhubri after they had sneaked into Assam from Bangladesh.

Several weapons and about 2 kg of explosives, besides Indian as well as Bangladesh currency, were recovered from them.

Story continues below this ad

Meanwhile, Lt Gen BS Jaswal, GOC of the Army8217;s Four Corps told The Indian Express on Sunday that there were indeed general intelligence inputs that jehadi elements were looking for an opportunity to strike.

8220;There were, however, no specific information regarding what happened in Guwahati on Thursday,8221; Lt Gen Jaswal, who is also the operational head of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations in Assam, said.

Since August 11, the Army have killed as many as 25 militants, including seven HuJI militants in Assam, apart from apprehending 89 others who belonged to ULFA and other militant groups. It was only the previous Sunday that the Army had gunned down five ULFA militants, including one Putul Ali, in Nalbari district.

8220;While the Army got the inputs from another intelligence agency, those were also shared with all other security agencies,8221; Lt Gen Jaswal said.

Story continues below this ad

Meanwhile, Gogoi has said that Thursday8217;s serial blasts may have links to the recent release of a number of Islamic militants from jail in the state.

8220;I don8217;t rule out connections between these blasts and the persons released from jail recently,8221; the Chief Minister said.

A sessions court in Guwahati had on June 11 ordered release of 11 people who are said to be members of different MFOs and Islamic militant groups due to lack of 8220;solid evidence8221;.