Assam: School in Hailakandi district damaged after dual bomb blast near Mizoram border

Assam woke up amid fresh tension on Saturday, as a primary school situated in Assam near the Mizoram border was bombarded on Friday night. The bombing incident took place in the Gutguti area of the Hailakandi district, where a school building was severely damaged. The school was locked due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which is why the blast claimed no casualties.  As per the locals, the two blasts were carried by the Mizroman side. Meanwhile, an official deployed on Mizoram's border said they had not received information about the incident. 

This is the second incident in a row. Earlier in February this year, Assam witnessed a similar case of twin blasts that damaged Muliwala lower primary school situated under Katlicherra Block. The mission behind targeting children's schools is not yet clear, but locals claim that Mizoram wants to continue the decades-old dispute.

Bomb blasts damage primary school in Assam’s Hailakandi district

Hailakandi Superintendent of Police (SP) Gaurav Upadhyaya confirmed the damage caused by the blast. While talking to a media person, he said that one side of the school building was severely damaged. Meanwhile, police officials rushed to the scene to take control of the situation. The double blast happened within an interval of 10-minutes at around 11:30 in the night and the explosion caused no casualties, he added. Meanwhile, the police personnel present at the site said, that they did not discuss the incident with their counterparts, but questions will be asked from the Mizoram officials, once the situation restores to normalcy.

Assam-Mizoram border clash

It seems Assam and Mizoram are not going to easily end their decades-old dispute, and this incident is proof. A few weeks ago, six police personnel and a civilian from Assam were killed in the Cachar district due to border clashes, leaving over 50 people injured. The massive violence on the borders later resulted in a 10-day economic blockade in Assam, which prevented transporting essential goods to Mizoram. Meanwhile, after the central government's intervention, both the states agreed to resolve the border fight peacefully. This blast, however, could once again trigger a fresh violence-like situation between the two states. Currently, the situation on the Assam-Mizo border is under security control and the area is under high alert.

IMAGE: AP/REPRESENTATIONAL IMAGE