Nine people were injured when an explosion rocked the busy Paltan Bazar area in the heart of Guwahati at around 12.55 pm on Friday.

Police informed that suspected United Liberation Front of Asam militants planted the explosive device in a motorcycle parked in the parking space beside the road in front of Bishwa Ratna Hotel in the area. A number of motorcycles burned in fire stoked by the explosion. 

The injured were evacuated to a nearby hospital as chaos reigned in the area. Two critically injured, a 13-year-old schoolboy and a woman, are undergoing treatment while the rest were released after first-aid, sources said.

The exact nature of the explosive and how it was triggered will be ascertained only after investigations, city Senior Superintendent of Police S N Singh said.

The banned ULFA is observing its 'Army Day' on Friday. (Sainik Divas to commemmorate formation of its armed wing on this day in 1986.)

With PTI Inputs