GUWAHATI, India, Nov 3 (Reuters) - A strike to protest against bombings that killed 84 people in India's troubled Assam state last week shut down the region on Monday, police said, with angry Indians blaming illegal Bangladeshi migrants.
Protesters marched through the otherwise deserted streets of Guwahati, the state's main city, where 44 people died on Thursday when three bombs exploded within minutes.
A little-known Islamist group has claimed responsibility for Thursday's blasts in the tea- and oil-producing state, the worst strike in the troubled region, which also wounded 300 people.
Police suspect that Islamist militants working with separatists in Assam were behind the bombings.
Several students' groups called the day-long strike across the state, demanding a crackdown on illegal settlers.
"We are going to intensify our campaign to drive out Bangladeshis from the region," said Samujjal Bhattacharjee of the Northeast Students Organisation.
"We also appeal to people to free our society from these elements who are the real cause of terror."
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