At least 17 people were gunned down by the anti-talk faction of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants in a series of attacks in Sonitpur, Udalguri and Baksa districts last evening.
According to sources, heavily armed militants way-laid a bus in remote Guimari area in Sonitpur district, bordering Arunachal Pradesh and fired indiscriminately on the passengers after lining them up.
Eight passengers, all of them employees of the Arunachal Pradesh government, died on the spot. Six others were injured seriously in the incident.
Five more Hindi-speaking people, including a woman, were shot dead by the militants near Belsi Railway Station under the jurisdiction of the Missamari police station while another shot dead at Dhekiajuli in the same district.
In yet another attack, the militants gunned down two more persons at Majbat in Udalguri district. Meanwhile, a red alert have been sounded in the Bodoland Territorial Council districts in view of the increased violence by the underground outfit.
Security agencies have launched a massive search operation to apprehend the militants.