Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

PM condemns Assam attacks; more forces sought

Last updated on: January 06, 2007 18:27 IST

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday condemned the United Liberation Front of Asom killings in Assam.

The Assam government anounced an ex-gratia payment of Rs 3 lakh to the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 to the injured in the ULFA attacks on non-Assamese people in Dibrugarh and Tinsukia districts.

A government spokesman said the government would also give free medical treatment to the injured even outside the state if necessary.

Altogether 45 people have been killed in the two districts since Friday.

Twenty-six people were killed in ULFA attacks on brick-kiln workers and milkmen on Saturday, while 19 others were gunned down on Friday.

Meanwhile, the Union Home Ministry issued advisories to West Bengal and Bihar to remain alert in the wake of the killings.

The MHA has asked the two states to take all precautionary measures to prevent any backlash, an official spokesman said.

Taking a serious view of the ULFA violence on non-Assamese people and the attack on the Rajdhani Express, the Assam government on Saturday sought additional forces from the Centre for providing security during the coming 33rd National Games in Guwahati next month and for patrolling along railway tracks.

State Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters in Guwahati that the state government has urged the Centre to ensure that passengers of trains to and from Assam passing through Bihar and Bengal were not affected in retaliatory violence following ULFA attacks on migrant people from those states.

© Copyright 2024 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.