Some 10,000 people have already died in the ongoing violence in this state.
Assam rocked by bomb explosions
At least 31 people have been injured in four separate explosions in the north-east Indian state of Assam. Police chief DN Dutt told the BBC that unidentified men had lobbed grenades into markets in the four attacks on Thursday night and early Friday. He said it was unclear who was responsible for the explosions. Rebels in Assam have been fighting for independence since 1979 in a bloody struggle which has claimed more than 10,000 lives. The police said the explosions happened in Nowgaon, Golakganj, Dhubri and Mongoldoi areas between 2100 (1530GMT) on Thursday and 0200 on Friday (2030GMT Thursday). Four of the injured people are in a critical condition.
Peace talks
The markets in central and western Assam are usually crowded on Thursday - the weekly big market day. Assam police intelligence chief Khagen Sarmah told the BBC that separatist rebels belonging to the United Liberation Front of Assam (Ulfa) group are active in the area where the blasts took place. “Though there is no evidence yet that the Ulfa was involved, the needle of suspicion points to them,” he said. The rebel group has not commented on the incidents. Ulfa is currently holding peace negotiations with the Indian government through a committee of civil society leaders called the People’s Consultative Group (PCG). The PCG has twice met Indian government officials but Ulfa has yet to announce a formal ceasefire, although it says that it wants an end to military operations in Assam. Analysts say the Ulfa leadership is frustrated because the federal government has not initiated a fresh round of talks with the PCG. “Ulfa wants negotiations, but as yet does not want to get directly involved. So its leadership is likely to be upset unless negotiations are carried out,” says Samir Das, who has written a book on the group.