Guwahati: The Assam Police conducted extensive searches throughout the state on Independence Day, following claims by the banned militant group ULFA(I) that they had planted explosives in 19 locations.

Assam's Director General of Police stated that "suspicious items" were discovered in several areas, including Guwahati.

Although these objects contained circuits and batteries, no ignition devices were found. While no suspicious items were located at six of the sites, two IED-like devices were recovered in Panbazaar and Gandhi Basti.

“We thoroughly searched eight locations. Out of these locations, we could not find any suspicious objects in six of them, however, in Panbazaar and Gandhi Basti, we found two IED-like objects,” Guwahati Commissioner of Police Diganta Barah as quoted as saying by PTI.

The ULFA(I) named several districts, including Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Lakhimpur, Nagaon, Nalbari, Tamulpur, Tinsukia, and Golaghat, among the 24 locations where they claimed to have planted explosives. In response, police have cordoned off all roads around the listed areas. Senior police officials have been deployed to oversee search operations.

The police action followed a Thursday statement from ULFA(I), claiming bombs had been planted in 19 locations across Assam but failed to detonate due to a "technical error." The group said the bombs were intended as a protest against Independence Day celebrations.