At least seven people were killed and 61 others injured in two bomb blasts triggered by suspected ULFA militants in Maligaon area and Dhekiajuli on the eve of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Assam.
Assam DGP J M Srivastav said seven people were killed and 56 injured when a powerful bomb blast went off in Maligaon at around 1400 hrs, sparking a fire that set ablaze two cars and 20 motorcycles and spread to a three-storey building housing the area police station.
"This is the handiwork of ULFA boys ahead of the outfit's 'Raising Day'," he said, adding the militants used hi-tech explosives.
While six were killed on the blast site, one succumbed to injuries after jumping from an adjacent building which had caught fire.
The DGP said Singh will go ahead with his visit to the state tomorrow during which he will address poll meetings in Dispur and Dibrugarh. "We have taken all precautions."
"The PM's programme remains unchanged," PMO sources said in New Delhi.
Black smoke billowed out after the bomb, suspected to have been hidden in a car or a motorcycle, adjacent to the Northeast Frontier railway headquarters.
Minutes after the first blast, another explosion took place in Dhekiajuli near Tezpur injuring 5 people.
