Guwahati: Maoists in Assam triggered four explosions, blowing up oil and gas pipelines, hours after a market-place bomb killed five people, police said on Saturday.
The militants blew up a pipeline carrying crude oil from a drilling site in the state's Duliajan area, and a gas pipeline in the town of Digboi, 400 km east of Guwahati.
They also hurled a grenade at a house of a local politician, hurting six people, including two children, officers said.
On Friday, five people were killed and more than 16 wounded when a bomb exploded in a crowded market in Guwahati.
Police blamed the outlawed United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA), for the market bombing and for a series of grenade attacks on Thursday that wounded at least 20 people.
No group has claimed responsibility for the explosions. The attacks followed shortly after an announcement that a third round of talks between New Delhi and representatives of the ULFA would be held on June 22.
"We are very much sure the ULFA militants are carrying out these attacks. We have enough evidence to prove it," said Khagen Sharma, a senior police officer in Guwahati.
"Perhaps the ULFA wants to prove it is still a force to reckon with ahead of the talks," Sharma said.
The group has fought a war for the secession of Assam from India for more than 25 years, accusing New Delhi of neglecting the state's economy and taking its rich natural resources.
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