Guwahati, Dec. 27: Twenty-four persons, including children, were injured when a bus carrying over 60 picnickers was set on fire by suspected cadres of the Birsa Commando Force on National Highway 52 near Monabari tea estate in Assam’s Sonitpur district today.

The incident took place minutes after the 24-hour statewide bandh, called by the Birsa Commando Force in protest against the killing of three of its cadres by the army recently, took effect at 5am today.

The officer-in-charge of Behali police station, Dilip Saikia, said the bus was packed with over 60 people, who were returning to Hawajan in Lakhimpur district after picnicking in Sivasagar.

Quoting bus passengers, the police said about five armed persons, including two minors, stopped the bus by pelting stones at its windshield.

“When the driver stopped the bus, the miscreants broke open the windshield, poured kerosene and set the bus on fire. The bus was packed with passengers, including women and children. The armed persons were on motorcycles and fled soon after committing the act,” Saikia said.

“Most of the passengers managed to come out of the bus as it took time for the fire to engulf the entire vehicle. Some got injured while trying to come out in haste while five of them suffered burn injuries. All of them are out of danger,” he added.

The injured were rushed to the Biswanath Chariali sub-divisional hospital. Nineteen of them were released after being given first aid.

Saikia said a police picket, posted about 500 metres from the incident site, had tried to stop the bus and provide police escort so that it could cross the area safely but the driver did not stop.

However, Birsing Munda, the commander-in-chief of the Birsa Commando Force which has been in a ceasefire with the government since 2004, told The Telegraph that though his outfit had called the bandh its cadres were not involved in the incident.

“I am surprised myself. We are completely in the dark. Inspector-general of police (special branch) Khagen Sarma had called to find out what was happening and he was equally surprised. In fact, we don’t have a single cadre in that area. It seems a third force is trying to malign us and derail the peace process,” he added.