Assam witnessing fewer terror incidents in the last 5 years, shows data

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, at a rally in Guwahati on March 15, claimed there had been no major extremist or militant attacks in Assam in the past five years. It is hard to define what a ‘major’ attack is. But the data from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) suggests this claim is inaccurate.

According to  the 2019-20 annual report published by the MHA, Assam witnessed 153 insurgency-related incidents between 2016 and 2019. These resulted in the killings of 42 civilians, eight security force personnel and 72 extremists. But compared to 2016, cases of insurgency-related incidents reduced by 77% in 2019.

Here are a few incidents militant attacks in Assam in the last five years:

One of the most recent instances of a militant attack would be the twin bomb blasts that damaged Muliwala Lower Primary School in Hailakandi district on February 3 this year. The under-construction school building, drinking water reservoir and boys' toilet were all damaged in the blasts, but no casualties were reported.

The Republic Day last year also witnessed four bomb blasts in  Dibrugarh (3) and Charaideo (1) in a span of 10 minutes around the time the national flag was unfurled across the country. Of the three blasts that took place in Dibrugarh district, one took place near a private hospital, the second near a market and the third near Duliajan police station. The fourth blast took place at Teokghat in the neighbouring Charaideo district which is believed to have a strong presence of ULFA militants.

A few days before the 2017 Republic Day, too, the state was subjected to a militant attack. An Assam Rifles  vehicle escorting tourists came under attack killing two personnel and injuring several others near the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border on January 22, 2017.

In August 2017, four low intensity blasts rocked Tinsukia and Sibsagar.  While, according to the MHA data, no casualties were recorded in insurgency-related incidents in Assam of late, such blasts and attacks have been a constant reminder of a situation of inherent turmoil there for decades now.