The dead are all migrants from Bihar, frequently accused of taking jobs from Assamese. Police suspect two militant organisations: the United Liberation Front of Assam and the Adivasi National Liberation Army.

Guwahati (AsiaNews/Agencies) Five people were killed and four injured this morning in an explosion aboard a passenger train in the north-eastern state of Assam.

The blast took place when the high speed train was nearing Golaghat district, about 270 kilometres east of Assam’s main city of Guwahati, en route to New Delhi.

District police report the explosive was planted inside the luggage cargo carriage. The impact of the explosion hit a portion of the nearest passenger carriage, but the blast had not affected other carriages. The train was immediately repaired and resumed its journey.

All the victims were Hindi-speaking migrant workers from neighbouring Bihar, a group previously targeted by Assamese rebels who accuse them of taking away jobs from local people.

Authorities suspected two militant organisations in the blast: the United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) and the Adivasi National Liberation Army (ALNA). The outlawed ULFA, one of the most powerful rebel groups in Assam, has been fighting for an independent homeland since 1979. The ALNA is a group active in parts of eastern Assam, fighting for special government concessions for the Adivasis, one of the many groups who work on Assam’s tea plantations. Both of the organisations are critical of the central government, who they accuse of robbing Assam of its natural resources without contributing to local development.  So far no one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

 

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• india
• train
• assam
• migrant
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• ulfa
• alna