Blast in Congress's Guwahati office; spokesperson, general secretary among injured

In the first incident of pre-poll violence in Assam, unidentified persons exploded a grenade in the Assam Congress headquarters here, injuring state party spokesperson Mehdi Alam Bora and general secretary Ranjan Bora among others.

Police said the explosion took place inside Rajiv Bhavan at Tarun Nagar area around 6.50 pm when there was a large number of people present.

The walls of the building, window panes and furniture were damaged under the impact of the explosion.

The injured have been admitted to the Gauhati Medical College hospital.

In New Delhi, a home ministry spokesperson said that initial reports suggested the blast may have been triggered by an IED.

The Centre has deployed 100 paramilitary companies in the state for the two-phase polls slated for April 4 and 11.

Violent incidents had shown a downward trend in Assam in the past few months following the surrender of several top leaders of the banned ULFA and their holding of talks with the Centre. ULFA military chief Paresh Baruah is, however, opposed to the talks and has pledged to carrying forward the group's arm struggle.