Cops gun down Assam ‘bomber’ in encounter

GUWAHATI: A 20-year-old Ulfa terrorist, who police had earlier claimed to have triggered the January 1 serial blasts in Guwahati, was gunned down by the Army in lower Assam on Thursday. Pranjal Deka alias Biju Sarania or Bhambal was killed in an encounter between troops and Ulfa terrorists at Halikuchi on the border between Baksa and Kamrup districts at 6.45pm, an officer from the Army’s Rangiya-based Red Horns Division said.

Sources said the encounter broke out when Deka and another Ulfa terrorist were trying to escape from Halikuchi after Armymen had spotted them. ‘‘We’re searching for Pranjal and others following a tip-off from intelligence wings. Pranjal and an unidentified terrorist were killed during the operation,’’ a security source said.

Earlier, there had been conflicting reports about Pranjal’s whereabouts. On January 2, Assam cops had released his photographs calling him the mastermind of the January 1 explosions that left five dead and over 65 injured. The blasts took place hours before Union home minister P Chidambaram arrived in Guwahati.

Two days later, police claimed that Pranjal was hiding in Guwahati. But on Tuesday, they said he had managed to flee the city.

Pranjal was allegedly involved in a number of explosions in Assam. He had reportedly entered Guwahati two days before New Years Day. Police tracked him through the calls made from his mobile phone.