12 hurt as firing erupts along Assam-Arunachal border over land row

At least 12 people from Assam were injured in alleged firing by miscreants from Arunachal Pradesh along the interstate border in Dhemaji district on Monday over encroachment of land, police said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said he has deputed one cabinet minister to hold talks with the Arunachal Pradesh government to hammer out the differences, and the DGP and chief secretary are already in touch with their respective counterparts.

According to a senior official, the incident took place in the morning at Mingmang Basti along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border in Gogamukh revenue circle of Gerukamukh police station.

The clash erupted following a dispute in connection with alleged encroachment by people from Arunachal Pradesh over land in Assam, police said.

As per preliminary information, the miscreants from across the border allegedly opened indiscriminate fire targeting residents of Assam, the official said.

The injured have been identified as Durgheswar Patir, Rohit Dole, Nagaraj Dole, Biggeshwar Patir, Pame Pegu, Sanjay Tayung, Utpal Dole and Jan Dole, while the identities of four persons are yet to be ascertained, he said.

All the injured were initially admitted to Gogamukh Rural Hospital. Seven of them were later referred to Dhemaji Civil Hospital in a critical condition, officials said.

Out of them, four critically injured were shifted to the Assam Medical College and Hospital for advanced treatment, they said.

"Security has been stepped up in the border area and further details are awaited," the senior official said.

Sarma, while speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official function at Sonapur near Guwahati, said that a "localised incident" was reported in Dhemaji along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh boundary.

"There is nothing to do at the state level as such. The situation has been promptly brought under control and the tension has been defused," he said.

Sarma said Education Minister Ranoj Pegu has been deputed to solve the matter and he is in touch with his counterpart from the neighbouring state.

"Our DGP is also in touch with his counterpart, and the CS is communicating with the Arunachal Pradesh government," he said.

Meanwhile, a senior district administration official said that a forest department team had gone to the border area a few days ago along with some locals, after receiving information about alleged encroachment.

"There was an argument with the settlers from Arunachal Pradesh, leading to a scuffle with them. The team returned thereafter and informed the administration," he said.

The official said the village head had invited the people from Assam for a discussion to settle the issue amicably, and they met on Monday morning.

"While the meeting was underway, a few from the Arunachal side were recording a video, which was objected to by the villagers from Assam. This led to intense arguments. Suddenly, miscreants from their side opened fire at Assam villagers," he claimed.

No official reaction from the Arunachal Pradesh government was immediately available.

Assam and Arunachal Pradesh share a 804.1-km border. There are 1,200 points of dispute along the border between the two states.

The Assam government had on July 29 told the state asssembly that Arunachal Pradesh has encroached upon 16,144.01 hectares of land. Out of these, Arunachal Pradesh claims 858.91 sq km.

Both the states have constituted 12 regional committees for resolving the border dispute, and are taking steps to resolve these issues based on recommendations of the panels, officials said.

A Namsai Declaration was signed by the chief ministers of the two states on July 15, 2022, setting in motion measures to resolve differences in 123 villages of Assam claimed by Arunachal Pradesh.

A MoU in this regard was later signed by the two CMs in New Delhi on April 20, 2023.

Out of the 123 villages claimed by Arunachal Pradesh, the differences in 71 villages have been resolved, and the process is on to address the issues in the remaining 52 villages, they said.

Arunachal Pradesh was a centrally-administered region initially after Independence and became a Union Territory later, before attaining full statehood in 1987.

After Arunachal Pradesh achieved statehood, a tripartite committee was appointed which recommended that certain territories be transferred from Assam to Arunachal Pradesh. Assam contested this and the matter is in the Supreme Court.