Militants attack Hindi-speaking men in Assam, seven killed

Udalguri/Kokrajhar (Assam): The NDFB's killing spree continued for the second day on Saturday as they gunned down two persons and injured four others in two districts, police said.

A group of armed ultras belonging to NDFB's anti-talk Song Bijit group raided Sakuwaserfung in Bijni subdivision of Chirang district at around 7:30 PM and fired indiscriminately, killing a 50-year-old man and injuring four persons, including two women, the sources said.

Imam Ali died after getting a bullet in his stomach, while Aminur Islam (45), Hazrat Ali (50), Sihirunnesa (30) and Anju Ara Begum (25) were injured in the firing by the National Democratic Front of Bodoland ultras. The victims were near some shops in the village. They were taken to a private hospital in Bangaigaon, the sources said.

Earlier in the day, a Hindi speaking barber, Bikram Singh (55), was shot from close range when he was coming out of his saloon at Ambagaon under Udalguri police station. Singh, a native of Bihar, died on the spot.

Friday night, suspected NDFB (S) terrorists killed five Hindi speaking people and injured three others after stopping a bus on NH-31 in Kokrajhar district. The vehicle was going from Siliguri in West Bengal to Shillong in Meghalaya.

The ultras had asked the eight passengers from Bihar to come out of the bus, lined them up and rained a volley of fire on them. They had then asked the inter-state bus to proceed on its journey.

The deceased, hailing from Bihar, are Papu Kumar Singh (25), Shamsher Mantri (20) and brothers Ahot Bihari (20) and Raj Bihari (19), police sources said. The injured, also from Bihar and admitted to Bongaingaon Civil Hospital, are Amol Gupta, Ramanand Ojah and Babulal Karmakar.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has asked the state DGP to take strict action against NDFB militants. Bihar government announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh each and state funeral at home for the four from the state.