BREAKING NEWS FROM GUWAHATI
TEXT AND IMAGES BY NANDA KIRATI DEWAN [EXCLUSIVE FIRST PHOTOS FROM THE BLAST SITES]
Dead bodies are carried down on a hand puller in the Ganeshguri area in Guwahati on Thursday October 30, 2008 after powerful bombs exploded in four major locations of Guwahati city i.e. Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, DC Court and Ganeshguri Chariali. So far 8 people are feared to have died and expected to increase, more details are awaited. Reports last came in bomb have been exploded in Bongaigoan, Barpeta, Kokrajhar districts of Assam.Photo by Nanda Kirati Dewan (UB Photos)
Burning Vehicle are seen in the blast sit of Kachari in Guwahati on Thursday October 30, 2008 after powerful bombs exploded in four major locations of Guwahati city i.e. Fancy Bazar, Pan Bazar, DC Court and Ganeshguri Chariali. So far 8 people are feared to have died and expected to increase, more details are awaited. Reports last came in bomb have been exploded in Bongaigoan, Barpeta, Kokrajhar districts of Assam. Photo by Nanda Kirati Dewan (UB Photos)
30 OCTOBER 4:25 PM, GUWAHATI: In between 11.30 to 12 noon powerful than Diwali crakers sound were heard in series that too with lots of smoke and outcry of the masses. It was evident that bomb had blast. Assam was rocked by a series of 13 powerful bomb blasts on Thursday morning, six in Guwahati city, two each in Bongaigain, Barpeta Road and Kokrajhar and one in Barpeta leaving at least 47 people dead and 282 injured at the time of filing this report. Injured have been shifted toGuwahati Medical College Hospital (GMCH) and Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH).
Wel placed sources informed this correspondent that the four blasts in Guwahati city occurred simultaneously at Ganeshguri, Kachari DC Court , market hub Fancy Bazaar and educational institution hub Paan Bazaar between 11.30-11.35 am. Of the four bombs, one at the Ganeshguri was planted in a car.Reliable police officials did not rule out the involvement of Bangladesh-based terrorist group Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami (HuJI) in the blasts.
Curfew has been imposed in all the major road of the city. City traffic has sealed all the movements of vehicles other than press persons. Red alert has been declared across the state while the Kamrup district has been put under Section 144. In Guwahati, angry mob set a police van and a fire tender on fire. Mobs has vandalized every thing around them. They were seen attacking press persons as well. Police personnels were forced to open fire to disperse the crowd and the mob.
Panic struck as all phone lines were jammed. The city has a wear and tear look now. Most of the blasts took place in busy marketplaces. Being the festival of Bhai Dooj, the markets were quite crowded which caused more casualties.
From: Himalayan Beacononline
Mental shift 