In a reminder of the bloodied ethnic riots of 2012, at least 17 people — including six women and three children — were killed in two incidents in Kokrajhar and Baksa districts in Assam since Thursday night even as reports poured in about six more bodies having been recovered and houses being torched at Narayanguri areas in Baksa district. Police said four people were injured during the violence in the last 24 hours.
Kokrajhar and Baksa, along with Udalguri and Chirang districts, form the Bodoland Territorial Areas Districts (BTAD) of Assam, the administration of which is being run by an elected autonomous council called Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC). The sudden attack by the militants forced the Assam Government to call out Army and paramilitary forces in the violence-affected areas of Baksa and Kokrajhar districts.
The Assam Government had called out the Army and paramilitary forces to assist the State police in maintaining law and order situation. The Army staged flag march in violence affected areas in the two districts to instill confidence among the people. The State Government has also requested the Ministry of Home Affairs to deploy additional 10 companies in the affected areas of BTAD.
The first incident took place at Narsingbari village under Gobardhan police station in Baksa late on Thursday. “Armed militants of suspected NDFB anti-talk faction entered two houses of the village and started indiscriminate firing killing three persons instantly and injuring two minor girls,” said Inspector General of Police (BTAD) lR Bishnoi. “The three deceased included two women and a man,” he said, adding one of the two injured girls also succumbed to her injuries at a hospital on Friday. The second incident took place after midnight at Balapara Tulsibeel village under Gossaigaon police station in Kokrajhar district.
“Armed cadres belonging to the NDFB anti-talk faction fired indiscriminately in the village killing six people and injuring three others,” Bishnoi said. “Although the three injured had been shifted to a local hospital immediately, one of them succumbed to his injuries -- taking the death toll in Kokrajhar district to seven,” he said, adding that the victims included four women, two children and a male.
“There are reports of recovery of six more bodies from a place in Narayanguri village in Baksa on Friday. We suspect the hands of NDFB’s anti-talk faction behind the incidents. We are informed that militants had also torched at least 36 houses in Narayanguri on Friday,” said State Home Commissioner GD Tripathy. He said that the six bodies recovered from Narayanguri sustained bullet injuries. “Police are, however, yet to confirm whether they were killed on Friday or earlier,” he added. Unofficial sources, however, said that the number of bodies recovered from Narayanguri was more than six.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi instructed the police to deal firmly with the situation in the wake of the violence. He reviewed the law and order situation with top police and civil administration officials and asked the police to leave no stone unturned to nab the militants behind the violence. A statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office here said that Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde called up the Chief Minister and assured all help and support to the State Government in bringing the situation to normality.
“Shinde assured that additional companies would be rushed in to reinforce security in the violence-hit places in particular and BTAD in general,” the statement said. Although the administration had been indicating the hands of anti-talk faction of the NDFB militants behind the violence, non-Bodo organisations are suspecting the hands of Bodoland Peoples’ Front (BPF), the ruling party in the BTC, behind the incidents.
“We do not rule out hands of the BPF behind the incidents as one of their legislators had recently said that their candidate for the lok Sabha election in Kokrajhar seat might lose the polls as the party had not received votes from the religious minority community this time. The attack might be retaliation for the same,” said Rockybul Islam, secretary of the All Bodoland Minority Students’ Union (ABMSU).
The BTAD region of Assam, which includes four districts --Kokrajhar, Baksa, Chirang and Udalguri -- had witnessed worst ever violence between the Bodos and Bengali speaking Muslim settlers in 2012 that led to killing of over 100 civilians and displacement of over four lakh people from both the communities. While some of the victims of the 2012 riots have been rehabilitated, some are still living in relief camps and are yet to receive the complete compensation package announced by the Government earlier.