Ten killed in bomb blast in India's Assam

Ten people, including seven paramilitary personnel, were killed in a bomb blast in the remote north eastern state of Assam on…

Ten people, including seven paramilitary personnel, were killed in a bomb blast in the remote north eastern state of Assam on Sunday, police said.

A police spokesman said an explosive device exploded on the roadside near Bijni in western Assam, killing five Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) men and two civilians on the spot.

Three others who had been admitted to the hospital, succumbed to their injuries this evening, the spokesman said.

Police suspect militants of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) to be behind the explosion.

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Formed in the early 1980s, the NDFB is fighting for an independent homeland in northern Assam for Bodo tribesmen, accusing the federal government of neglecting their welfare.

Bodos make up around 13 per cent of Assam's 26 million population.

Northeast India has been plagued by separatist insurgencies for the past 50 years, with local residents accusing the government of plundering the region's resources and ignoring the local economy.