| 2009 Guwahati serial blasts | |
| Location: | Guwahati, Assam, India |
| Date: | 1 January 2009 |
| Timezone: | + 5:30 |
| Type: | improvised explosive device bombing |
| Fatalities: | 6[1] |
| Injuries: | 67[2] |
| Perps: | ULFA |
The 2009 Guwahati bombings occurred on 1 January 2009 in Guwahati, Assam, India. They occurred a few hours before Indian Home Minister P. Chidambaram was due to travel to the city.[3]
The bombing was carried out by the United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), and left 6 people dead and a further 67 injured.
Police confirmed that first blast took place near Lokopriya Gopinath Bordoloi TB Hospital at Birubari at 2.35pm, injuring five people, including a 10-year-old child. Another blast at the busy Bhootnath market near the famous Kamakhya Temple, killed two people instantaneously and injured at least 25 others. Police said that a bomb was placed on a bicycle.[2] Incidentally, P Chidambaram was to pass Bhootnath on his way from the airport.[4]
The third blast occurred outside a Big Bazaar retail outlet at Bhangagarh, a commercial area near Guwahati Medical College (GMCH), at 5.45 pm. Bhangagarh is one of the poshest areas in Guwahati and is home to many shopping malls.[3] Three of the 34 people injured in the blast succumbed to their injuries in hospital. Police suspected that the bomb was kept inside a pan shop in the area.[2] Another person died in the hospital making the death toll 6.[1]
All three blasts were low intensity, carried using Improvised explosive devices (IED). Police say that the a biker placed the first bomb in a dustbin, the second one was placed on a cycle and third on the roadside. The second blast was the most powerful one. The third blast ignited a fire due to its proximity to a kerosene source.[4]
The injured were admitted to the GMCH and Mahendra Mohan Choudhury Hospital (MMCH) and are reported to be in critical condition.[4]
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is suspected of having carried out the bombings.[4] [2]
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi admitted security lapses and expressed the need of strengthening the state police force.[4]