Dhubri, July 30: A blast triggered by Ulfa damaged a bus, killing five CRPF jawans and injuring 33 of their colleagues at Bhalukdubi under Goalpara district at 8 this morning.

The explosion comes just five days after an attack on SSB jawans in Chirang district.

Anu Buragohain, who introduced himself as the “spokesperson for Ulfa”, later called up a local TV channel claiming that the blast was carried out in the thickly forested area by the outfit. He said though Ulfa had “remained quiet” for some time, security forces continued to target its cadres and that is why it had retaliated. He warned of more such strikes.

Intelligence sources, however, did not rule out the possibility of some NDFB (anti-talks) militants executing the blast at the behest of Ulfa.

“The precision of the execution certainly points to such a possibility,” a source said.

The bus carrying 45 jawans of the CRPF’s 12 battalion was returning to its Goalpara camp from Balijana, 13km away, where they undergo regular counter-insurgency training.

When the bus entered Bhalukdubi near Kali Mondir, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on a roadside hill slope, level with the bus window and connected by a wire about three metres away, was triggered by Ulfa militants hiding inside the forest. The left side of the bus was pockmarked by splinters.

Pulak Sen, P.M. Rao, Ranbir Singh and N.B. Salam of the 12 battalion of the CRPF died on the spot.

The superintendent of Gauhati Medical College and Hospital, Ramen Talukdar, said 22 jawans had been brought to the hospital till this evening. Mangal Layak, a jawan, died while he was being shifted to GMCH. Talukdar said the condition of three to four jawans was critical and one Manoranjan Boro had been admitted to the emergency intensive care unit.

Ram Mohan, who sustained shoulder and hand injuries, said they had left for the counter-insurgency training early in the morning.

“I was relaxing inside the bus and chatting with some colleagues. Suddenly, we heard a loud sound and the bus started rattling. For a fraction of a second I could not guess what was happening and saw my colleagues trying to wriggle out of the windows. I, too, did so for survival,” Mohan, who hails from Andhra Pradesh, said.

Honnappa V, who sustained injuries on his right hand and face, said the blast site was covered by a dense forest and so no one initially had an idea about what caused the explosion. “Considering the impact of the blast, it was an IED triggered by militants hiding inside the forest,” he said.

“Some more injured personnel may need to be hospitalised,” Talukdar said.

Eleven jawans were taken to the CRPF camp at Goalpara after they were administered medical aid at the Goalpara Civil Hospital.

Senior police officials, including the superintendent of police, Goalpara, Luise Aind, and commanding officer in-charge, A.K. Singh, rushed to the spot.

A police source said that it was raining when the militants activated the IED and fled into the Bhalukdubi reserve forest which connects Pancharatna and Khutamari reserve forests.

The blast took place on Soulmari-Goalpara PWD road, one of the busiest stretches, 3km from Goalpara town. Vehicles bound for Bongaigaon, Dhubri, the Garo hills and Guwahati have to pass though this road. Soulmari is the point where the road meets NH 37.

Aind said the IED was powerful.“We have collected a 30-metre wire, splinter, residue of explosives and other substances and these are being examined by explosives expert to ascertain the nature of explosive used in the IED,” Aind said.

Security forces have launched an operation against Ulfa in the entire forest area, Aind added.

“I was busy attending to the seriously injured jawans and I am not in a position nor authorised to share information,” Singh said.