Kokrajhar: At least 14 people were killed and 15 wounded on August 5 when terrorists fired at a weekly market in Assam, northeastern India.
Security forces killed one terrorist and recovered an AK-47 gun from him after an intense 20-minute gun battle at Balajan Tinali market in Kokrajhar town.
Additional forces have been rushed to the spot, even as other terrorists are being pursued by security forces. Apart from opening fire on the market, the terrorists also lobbed a grenade that ravaged three shops, reports The Times of India.
A survivor, Santosh Narzary, a trader at the market, said, “I saw one gunman dressed in black raincoat-like gown and another two were sitting in an autorikshaw. He wasn’t firing indiscriminately but targeting people and taking one shot at a time.”
Assam DGP Mukesh Sahay blamed the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (Songbijit) for the attack. Assam Chief Minister Sarabananda Sonowal has spoken with Prime Minister Narendra Modi after the incident, news agency ANI reported.
A Bodo outfit had issued a threat to the National Investigation Agency recently.
This is the first incident of firing on people at a public place in the militancy-ravaged state. The shoot-out occurred when the state was on a high alert in view of India’s Independence Day on August 15.
“We suspect there were at least three militants and one of them has been killed. Army is searching the area for the other militants,” said Defence PRO Lt Col S Newton.