An armyman keeps vigil at Dispur Last Gate and (below) Sanjib Talukdar in front of the CJM court. Pictures by Eastern Projections

Guwahati, Jan. 6: Kamakhya temple was on Ulfa’s hit list on January 1 but heavy police deployment on account of the Union home minister P. Chidambaram’s visit to the city that day forced a last-minute change of plans.

Sanjib Talukdar, a militant arrested for his involvement in the New Year’s day serial blasts that killed five persons, made the stunning revelation while being interrogated by police.

He said the rebels wanted to plant the explosives at Kamakhya gate and Adabari bus stand, but gave up the idea because of police presence.

Talukdar, who was arrested from Rangia, is said to have handed over the explosives to the militants, who subsequently planted them at Birubari, Bhootnath and Bhangagarh.

The two sites which Ulfa missed were on the route Chidambaram would have taken to reach the city from the airport.

“There was a heavy deployment of security forces on the route and that is what deterred their (the militants’) plans of planting bombs at these two places,” a police official said.

Kamakhya temple is about 3km from Kamakhya gate at the foot of the Neelachal Hills on Dinesh Goswami Road, earlier known as A.T. Road.

He said had the militants been successful in triggering the blast at Kamakhya gate, it would have had mammoth political ramifications for the ruling Congress.

“Any blast in that area would have been immediately attributed to jihadi elements. This could have caused great political inconvenience to the ruling party, which, it is alleged, is soft towards Muslims in general,” the official said.

The state government had drawn flak after the October 30 serial blasts when jihadis were the prime suspect.

Dispur, detractors alleged, had failed to tackle the problem of infiltration from Bangladesh.

Security personnel at the gates of Kamakhya temple. A file picture

Eventually, though, investigations revealed that a section of NDFB militants was involved in the blasts.

“Some people have fixed notions and react too quickly. They can’t imagine that even Ulfa could plan to strike around the temple,” the official said.

The militant outfit had used the temple precincts in the past when it shot dead a senior army officer there a few years ago, he said.

Though several persons have been arrested in connection with the New Year’s day blasts, one of the main accused, Pranjal Deka, is yet to be apprehended.

The police had tracked the mobile phone he was using and once cornered, he had dumped the bomb in a trash bin at Birubari.

The blast — the first of the three — blew a large hole in the iron bin and caused minor injuries to a few people.

All the five victims of the day were killed in the biggest of the three blasts at roadside vegetable stall fringing Bhootnath market, opposite a crematorium on MG Road.