The Hindu : Blaze in Digboi refinery as ULFA attacks oil installations

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Mar 09, 2003

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Blaze in Digboi refinery as ULFA attacks oil installations

By Barun Das Gupta

A motor spirit tank in Digboi Refinery on fire on Saturday. The gaping hole on tank 559, said to be created by a rocket propelled grenade, is suspected to have caused the blaze. -- PTI

GUWAHATI MARCH 8. The United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA) struck simultaneously at four places in upper and lower Assam last night, targeting oil installations and police posts. Two persons were killed and six injured.

Following the attacks a high alert was declared all over the State.

In Digboi, the ULFA targeted a fuel tank of a refinery containing 4,500 kilolitres of oil. The flames from the fire leapt up to100 metres high, lighting up the night sky.

Nandan Saikia, deputy general manager of the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Assam Oil Division, said that efforts were on to prevent the fire from spreading to the 12 adjacent tanks.

About 3,000 people have been evacuated from this area and fire-fighting equipment rushed from the nearby districts to contain the fire.

In another incident near Duliajan in upper Assam, the ULFA blew up Oil India Limited's pipeline carrying oil to the power-generating station of the North-Eastern Electric Power Corporation (NEEPCO) at Kathalguri.

The ULFA made a rocket attack on the Bongaigaon police reserve, but there was no casualty. Militants also fired on the Rangjuli police station in Goalpara district. No policemen were hurt, but the fleeing militants, firing indiscriminately, killed two labourers and injured six.

PTI reports:

Paresh Baruah, a self-styled commander-in-chief of the ULFA, rang up media houses in Guwahati this morning to claim responsibility for the attacks.

In Kolkata, the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minster, Ram Naik, said the fire in Digboi had been controlled. The extra foam required for containing the fire had been sent from Guwahati, he said.

Asked whether adequate security measures were in place to protect oil installations in the country, Mr. Naik said that all were guarded by a separate Central force. "In spite of security arrangements such attacks take place," he added.

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