Suspected Ulfa (Independent) militants exploded a grenade in front of a shopping mall here on Wednesday evening injuring 12 people.

Police officials said unidentified persons lobbed the grenade in the busy Zoo Road around 7.40pm, where police had put up a naka checking following an intelligence input about Ulfa's plan to carry out an attack in the city. The explosion damaged window panes of the shopping mall situated about 20-meters away.

Two jawans of Sasatra Seema Bal (SSB), who were part of the naka team were among the injured.



"Preliminary investigation suggests it to be a grenade blast. There was a naka checking going on when the attack was carried out. Our naka checking team could be their target. We have started an investigation on how the attack was carried out and who was behind it. " Guwahati police commissioner, Deepak Kumar told reporters at the blast site.

The place is about one kilometre away from Assam Secretariat.

The incident took place hours after chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal held a meeting with police and other officials and instructed them to step up security in the city. Condemning the grenade attack, Sonowal asked police chief Kuladhar Saikia to step up efforts to nab those behind it.

Sources suspected that Ulfa (Independent) could have carried out the attack in retaliation to arrest of three of its cadres in Tinsukia in central Assam.