4 blasts rock Assam on Republic Day

Guwahati : Four blasts rocked Assam on Sunday as the nation was celebrating its 71st Republic Day, officials said, adding there were no injuries.

Three of the explosions took place in Dibrugarh district and one in Charaideo.

Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal described the incident as a "cowardly attempt to create terror on a sacred day".

"Strongly condemn the bomb blasts in a few places of Assam. This cowardly attempt to create terror on a sacred day only exhibits the frustration of the terror groups after their total rejection by the people. Our Govt will take the sternest action to bring the culprits to book," Sonowal tweeted.

The banned insurgent outfit United Liberation Front of Asom (Independent) (ULFA-I) had called for a "general strike" on Sunday, asking citizens not to participate in the Republic Day celebrations.

In capital, on a day of many firsts, the heavylift helicopter Chinook and attack helicopter Apache, made their debut flypast at the parade. Both the Chinook and the Apache helicopters were recently inducted in the Indian Air Force.

The Chinook helicopter can airlift diverse, heavy loads in remote locations. It is a heavy lift, twin rotor helicopter which has significantly enhanced the Indian Air Force's lift capability across a range of military and Humanitarian Assistance Disaster Relief or HADR missions.

The Apache stealth attack helicopter, on the other hand, is a versatile combat helicopter, capable of firing air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, rockets and front gun aided by a fire control radar which can unleash a lethal attack on the adversary.

The two newly-acquired helicopter fleet have provided the Indian armed forces a significant edge against the enemy on the battlefield.

Meanwhile, The Indian Air Force pilots of the Mi17 helicopter that was shot down in friendly fire in Budgam in Jammu and Kashmir last year have been conferred gallantry awards posthumously.

Squadron Leader Ninad Anil Mandavgane (Posthumous), Squadron Leader Siddharth Vashisht (Posthumous) were awarded the Vayu Sena medal (gallantry) on the eve of Republic Day.

On February 27, 2019, an Mi17 helicopter crashed in Budgam in which six personnel onboard were killed. This happened during heightened tension between India and Pakistan.

The incident took place in the fog of war or what is often called blue on blue in military parlance a day after the Indian Air Force hit terror camps in Pakistan. As the Pakistan Air Force retaliated, there was an aerial dogfight.

The other four personnel killed were accorded the status of ''Mention-In-Despatches'' which is also a recognition for gallantry.

Sergeant Vikrant Sahrawat, Sergeant Vishal Kumar Pandey, Corporal Pankaj Kumar and Corporal Deepak Pandey have their names figured as Mention-in-Despatches, Posthumously.