At least 13 people were seriously injured in Assam's Goalpara district tonight as suspected Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA) militants from across Meghalaya indiscriminately opened fire on a group of people gambling on the occasion of Diwali.
The armed insurgents swooped on the group of gamblers at remote Gendamari in Aagia police station and randomly fired on them at around 9 PM, police said.
The injured were taken to Goalpara Civil Hospital by the locals, who alleged that the police came late at the site of the firing.
Meanwhile, senior police officers have rushed there from the district headquarters town of Goalpara, the source said.
Proscribed GNLA, based in the jungles of Garo Hills district of Meghalaya near to Goalpara district, has been fighting for a separate state since 2009.
They attack security forces and civilians, trigger blasts and kidnap people to extort money.
