Guv Jamir escapes bid on life
IANS,
Guwahati
24 November 2007
At least two security personnel
were injured Saturday when suspected Naga separatists made an unsuccessful assassination
bid on Goa Governor S.C. Jamir who is on a visit to Nagaland, officials said.
"The
governor's 30-vehicle convoy was on its way from the town of Mokokchung to Dimapur
when it came under bomb attack near the village of Changki. Except for two security
men who sustained minor injuries, there were no casualties in the attack,"
Mokokchung Deputy Commissioner R. Lotha told IANS by telephone.
Jamir, a
former chief minister of Nagaland, has survived three earlier assassination attempts.
"A
total of five explosions took place, all from improvised explosive devices, as
the convoy was negotiating a stretch of the road that was under construction.
The bombs were placed on a drain along the road,"
Lotha said.
Policemen
who reached the spot soon after the attack found four live bombs and were in the
process of defusing them, the deputy commissioner said. A loaded rifle was also
found at the scene.
"Mr. Jamir appeared unruffled by the attack and
directed his convoy to keep proceeding. He has since arrived in Dimapur,"
Lotha said.
Personnel from the Nagaland Police, Assam Rifles, the India
Reserve Battalion and the Central Reserve Police Force started a combing operation
in the area to nab the attackers.
"We have not yet established the
identity of the rebel group which may have carried out the attack," Lotha
said.
However, it is known that the Isac-Muivah faction of the National
Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN-IM) has been a bitter critic of Jamir.
On
his part, Jamir, one of Nagaland's veteran political leaders, has been advocating
the need for unification of all the Naga rebel factions for a lasting solution
to the insurgency problem in the State.
Meanwhile, Goa Government condemned
the attack on Jamir by unidentified assailants on Saturday in Mokokchung district
of Nagaland, report PTI from Panaji.
"It's a cowardly act. We condemn
the attack," Goa Chief Minister Digamber Kamat told PTI.
Kamat, who
spoke to the Governor earlier in the day, said that he was absolutely safe.
Meanwhile,
the state police on Saturday said that they would study the kind of attack carried
out on the Governor.
"We will study the details of the attack,"
Deputy Inspector General of Police, Ujjwal Mishra said.
The state government
has provided Jamir adequate security and the same security would be maintained,
he added.
However, police ruled out any impact of the attack in Jamir's
home state on the security of ongoing International Film Festival of India in
Goa. "IFFI has nothing to do with it," the DIG added.
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