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Assam bandh turns violent, one killed

Strike called to demand scrapping of the Bodoland Territorial Council

IANSPublished: 16:59 August 28, 2012

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Guwahati: Tension gripped many parts of Assam, including the troubled Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD), following fresh incidents of violence Tuesday in which at least one person was killed and six people were injured.

A 12-hour dawn-to-dusk Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students’ Union (AAMSU) and other groups under the banner of the United Movement for Peoples’ Rights also added to the tension.

The bandh was called to demand scrapping of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) that runs the administration in four districts of BTAD.

Bandh supporters also demanded the arrest of BTC chief Hagrama Mohilary.

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Late Monday night, unidentified miscreants attacked some villages under Fakiragram and Salekati police stations in Kokrajhar district, killing one person and injuring six others.

Police said the miscreants also set fire to some villages.

Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi Tuesday instructed the state authorities to deal with the situation strictly. He also appealed to people to help the police contain the situation and asked party leaders not to make any provocative statements that might aggravate the situation.

“Additional security forces and columns of the army have been rushed to the area. No one found to be involved in the clashes will be spared,” Gogoi said Tuesday.

The district administration has also sounded an alert in all the districts in BTAD and night curfew was in force in Kokrajhar, Chirang and Dhubri districts.

At Jogighopa in Bongaigaon district, police resorted to blank firing to disperse bandh supporters, who blocked National Highway 31 in the district. Police fired rubber bullets, injuring nine bandh supporters.

In Dhubri, security forces resorted to blank firing to disperse bandh supporters who burnt Mohilary’s effigy on NH 31 at Gauripur.

At New Hatipota near Bilasipara, bandh supporters blocked National Highway 31 and ransacked the office of the Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF).

In Sonitpur, activists damaged the official vehicles of the Tezpur Circle Officer, Sarangapani Sarma, and officer-in-charge of Bhojkhowa police station at Bhojkhowa.

In Sonitpur and Barpeta districts, bandh supporters attacked journalists.

Sporadic incidents of violence were also reported from Morigaon, Nagaon and Sibsagar districts