M A I N   N E W S

Assam Blasts
Islamic outfit claims responsibility
Bijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Guwahati, October 31
A little known ‘jehadi’ outfit called the Islamic Security Force (IM) today claimed responsibility for yesterday’s serial blasts that have so far killed 77 persons even as the police was yet to make any arrests.

Union home minister Shivraj Patil today visited the state to take stock of the situation. He held a meeting with senior security and civil officials here after visiting the areas where the explosions took place. He said those involved in the crime would not be spared.

The ISF (IM) sent an SMS to a local TV channel this afternoon, claiming that it was behind the blasts. The police traced the mobile number to Moirabari in Nagoan district and discovered that it was registered in the name of Mohammad Nazir Ahmed. It was switched off after sending the SMS.

Police sources informed that the outfit was formed in 2000 in Dhubri district bordering Bangladesh “to protect the interests of the minorities from the marauding National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) and the Bodo Liberation Tiger (BLT)”.

A group of members of the ISF (IM), led by its general secretary Mohammad Mustakul, had gone to occupied Kashmir (POK) and the outfit was suspected to be enjoying the support of the Al-Qaida.

Principal secretary, home department, Subhas Chandra Das said that no arrest had been so far in connection with the basts.He said the police was trying to ascertain the chassis numbers of at least three cars that were suspected to have been used to commit the crime in Guwahati. The official said bombs were planted on bicycles on the Barpeta Road in Barpeta district while those in Kokrajhar were planted in culverts.

Tension continued to prevail with educational institutions and offices remaining closed in most parts of the state, including Guwahati, where the police had to fire in the air to disperse a mob near the blast scene in Ganeshguri.

PTI adds: Meanwhile, two persons were nabbed by the police today in the first arrests in the terror attack.

Asib Mohammed Nizami and Zulfikar Ali, who are the owners of two vehicles in which the bombs were concealed in the Ganeshguri area of the city and Bongaigaon, have been arrested from Jhuria Dagaon in Nagaon district, the police said.

Tiny but brave Moromi battles for life
Bijay Sankar Bora
Tribune News Service

Five-year-old Moromi struggles for life at Guwahati Medical College Hospital on Friday. Photo by writer

Guwahati, October 31
Five-year-old Moromi Sharma was coming back from her school as usual holding the hand of her father. She never knew what was in store for her ahead. Suddenly a blast changed her life. She was seriously injured in the blast that rocked Ganeshguri area in the city yesterday. But she showed tremendous resilience to help the staff at Guwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) to trace her kin by providing the accurate address of her residence.

Her father Sagar Sharma (45), a carpenter by profession, died in the hospital after being seriously injured. “But for the courage shown by my little one, it would have been impossible for us to trace them yesterday. While coming back from school with her father they were hit by something very powerful and both of them fell down on the ground. Her father died in the hospital and she is now struggling for life with serious burn injuries. Please bless her so that she survives. What anyone will gain by killing innocent people like us?” said Sumita Sharma standing beside her daughter’s bed.

Moromi has not been able to eat anything since yesterday though she can still talk with a very feeble voice. She is now undergoing treatment at the burns ward of plastic surgery department at the GMCH. “The little girl has suffered over 50 per cent burn injuries in the face, both hands and legs. Her condition is very serious. We are trying our best to save her,” Dr Seema Rekha Devi, a plastic surgeon, said.

Moromi’s father hails from Dasat village in Samastipur district of Bihar and was married to Sumita Choudhuri from Dhubri in Western Assam. The family resides near Ganeshguri area in the city. “Her deceased father used to call her Lakshmi and was very keen to pick her up from the school every noon. The school bag was still hanging from his shoulder when he was hit hard by the blast,” said Sumita sobbing uncontrollably.

“I went past the blast site around 1-30 p.m. to bring Moromi’s elder brother Karan from the same school oblivious of what the grave tragedy that had already struck my husband and daughter. Moromi was brought to the hospital by a stranger,” she said.

Jyotsna Sinha, a schoolteacher from Silchar in South Assam, had come to Guwahati to submit her pension papers to the head office here. “But she was not destined to enjoy her pension, as the blast at Ganeshguri cut her life short,” said her wailing son, Prabhakar Sinha.

The blasts, the worst ever in the state with a three decades long history of insurgency, left many untraced so far as people were seen frantically looking for their missing near and dear ones. At least 19 unidentified bodies were still lying in the GMCH morgue. State health minister Dr Himanta Bishwa Sharma said DNA tests were conducted to identify seven bodies that were charred beyond recognition.