12 massacred by Bodos in Assam

GUWAHATI, Dec 31: Suspected Bodo militants gunned down 12 persons including five women and two children at village Nichilamari under Tangla police station in Darrang district of Northern Assam while Chief Minister Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and senior officials were attending a Christmas and New Year eve party in the state capital last night.

Police sources at Mangaldoi, the Darrang district headquarters told The Indian Express over the telephone today that the militants numbering between eight and 10, who were armed with sophisticated automatic weapons swooped down on as many as four families at village Nichilamari, and killed 12 on the spot.

Of the 12 killed, one was a six month-old male child, while another was just two years old.

All the victims were Bengali Hindu settlers, police said.

Police suspected the hand of the outlawed National Democratic Front of Bodoland, who might have escaped under the cover of darkness into the Bhutan jungles about 20 km away. The incident ocurred at around 8.30 pm.