Guwahati, April 28: Two passengers were injured when suspected Karbi militants fired at the Guwahati-bound BG Express near Diphu in Karbi Anglong district last night. The passenger train, coming from Dimapur, was only a km away from Diphu on its way to Guwahati when the militants opened fire.

Police, CRPF and army personnel have launched a massive manhunt. The attack came despite Dispur’s special security arrangement to ensure safe passage of trains and vehicles in Karbi Anglong following the indefinite road and rail blockade called by Karbi militants.

The Karbi Students and Youth Federation has asked all MLAs and MPs of Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills to resign by May 5 if they failed to stand united against Clause 8 of the BTC accord. The union expressed its displeasure with the politicians’ failure to exert pressure both on Dispur and New Delhi to withdraw the clause.

The clause gives the Bodos living in Karbi Anglong and North Cachar Hills the status of Scheduled Tribe (hills). The Karbis are strongly opposed to this move as they believe it is an encroachment into the community’s interests.

The union’s threat coincides with the Karbi militants’ blockade to oppose the Bodoland Territorial Council accord.