GUWAHATI: Suspected ULFA militants shot dead an Army officer and injured another critically outside the main gate of the Kamakhya temple here April 28.
‘According to the police, Lt. Col. Deben Tyagi died on the spot and Lt. Col. A.K. Ghosh was injured critically, when suspected ULFA men opened fire at them. Lt, Col. Ghosh has since been admitted to the Army hospital at Basistha. A civilian, Biplab Baruah, was also injured in the attack.
The Amy officers were in civilian dress as they were on leave. They had ‘gone to the temple to offer puja. Neither of them had any escort when they were attacked. ‘The police said they suspected that the assailants belonged to the underground ULFA. Mr. Baruah, who was injured in the attack, stated in an FIR filed with the police that he was sitting in a tea shop when he was hit by a stray bullet.
‘The assailants, who were at least four in number, had taken shelter behind some shops, barely 25 meters from the temple, the police said.
Office secretary of the temple, R.P. Sharma, and the temple have was full ‘of devotees when the shooting took place. The temple remained open after the incident though there were few visitors in the afternoon, he added.
Shopkeepers were reluctant to talk about the incident. One of them said, “We did not see anything, only heard: gunshots.”
‘A senior government official said that Amy detachments searched the area around the Kamakhya hills later, however, they did not enter he temple premises: he addeds.
“It is a restraint exercised out of strength, not of weakness,” Lt. Gen. RK, Sawhney, GOC TV Corps, said here, “I am stare good sense will prevail and they (the militants) will not provoke the Army again.”
A regional daily, quoting ULFA sources had said that the two Army officers were gunned down in protest against the Army launching “Operation Golden Bird” in Myanmar one year ago against the banned outfit Such attacks would continue if the ‘Army carried out its operation against ULFA, the report said. Gen Sawhney said:” I am not insecure. My officers and men are self-sufficient.” The Army, it was learnt, had “given itself the task” of ensuring peaceful polls in Assam. Now that the polls were over, it should be “training for war.” Senior Army officers felt hat at present, there was riot much need for the Army to carry out counterinsurgency operations in Assam. The police and the civil administration were sufficient.
‘The officers thought the situation in Nagaland and Manipur, where the Army was actively involved in counter insurgency, operation. Was, different from that in Assam.
‘Last month. One shipload of sophisticated arms bound for the northeast was captured with the cooperation of the Bangladesh government. But more such efforts were necessary, they said. While it might not be difficult to cut off altogether the inflow of arms, it ‘was necessary to check the bulk arrivals. ‘The Army was aware of the existence of rebel camps in the jungles of Indo Bhutan borders. ““Decisions have to be taken at the highest level for the ‘Amy to take action in such sanitations,” they said. “It cannot be decided at our level or at the level of the state government.” The. Officers refused to calibrate on the rebel camps Located in the jungles of the Arunachal Pradesh Assam border.
Article extracted from this publication >>May 8, 1996
