GUWAHATI, May 26: A bomb went off in a busy market here on Saturday, killing eight people and injuring 19 others.

Authorities said they had also defused a large bomb hidden on a train headed for the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility in either incident, but police were investigating whether the United Liberation Front of Asom was involved.

The explosives in the market were packed in an auto-rickshaw, said Guwahati police chief S.N. Singh.

Police found an unclaimed steel box on a train travelling from New Delhi to Gawahati at a station 200km from here, said railway official T. Rabha. In the box, police found a 10kg bomb, which the army later defused, the official said.

Officials believe the incidents might be pegged to the state government’s one-year anniversary, which is to be marked on Sunday.

State Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said the festivities would go on as planned. “We are not going to be cowed down by today’s explosion.”

Federal authorities have sent extra troops to the region to maintain calm.—AP