Rajnath calls up Gogoi; CM to order judicial probe into unprovoked police firing on protesters
Two people were killed and 14 others injured when police fired to disperse a group of violent agitators in Assam’s Golaghat district on Wednesday. The area has been on the boil for over a week due to attack by Naga miscreants on Assamese. The violence has claimed total nine lives and rendered over 10,000 people on the Assam side of the Assam-Nagaland border homeless.
The latest violence is outcome of clashes between the security forces and people in Golaghat. The local administration has sought help from the Army.
As the law and order situation deteriorated on Monday, the Golaghat administration imposed indefinite curfew in parts of the district.
Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi accused the Centre of soft-pedalling the upheavel along the Assam-Nagaland border in Golaghat.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh called up Gogoi to take stock of the situation and assured all help from the Centre to restore peace in the areas. The Home Ministry submitted a report to the Prime Minister’s Office on the ongoing violence. Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister Nripendra Mishra asked the Home Ministry to send details of the situation.
“We have already submitted a report to the PMO,” Home Ministry sources said. The report was sent within hours of seeking details of the situation. The Home Ministry has already sent around 1,000 paramilitary personnel to be deployed along the Assam-Nagaland border.
Meanwhile, in a statement on Wednesday, Assam Chief Minister said that the Government has decided to go for a judicial enquiry to arrive at the bottom of the truth.
“We would leave no stone unturned to find out the truth behind the firing incident,” he added.
large number of people in Golagaht took to streets on Wednesday to protest against Tuesday’s police atrocities on protesters agitating against the recent violence on the Assamese villagers along the Sector B of the Assam-Nagaland border by armed Naga miscreants.
The police had resorted to lathicharge and firing of rubber bullets to control the irate mob at Rongajan and Numaligarh in the district. One person was killed when he came under a speeding truck while trying to escape the lathicharge. Hundreds of people came out to the streets at Rongajan on Wednesday to protest the death of the protester. Although the protest was dispersed using lathicharge initially, yet it became violent and angry protesters set on fire one police vehicle.
“The people came in huge numbers despite our efforts to stop them and they had also damaged vehicle and public property. This forced us to fire which resulted in killing of two persons and injury of 14 others,” said Golaghat Superintendent of Police S Chetia.
Assam Home Secretary GD Tripathy added that out of the 14 injured, nine received serious injuries and were referred to Jorhat Medical College.
The violence took place ahead of the scheduled meeting between Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi and Nagaland Chief Minister TR Zeliang on Thursday over the border issue. Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju will is also likely to visit the troubled Assam-Nagaland border on Thursday.
“The neutral force deployed in the border is responsible for the law and order. I take my responsibility but the Centre, particularly the Union Home Minister is also responsible. They have not been taking the matter as seriously they should have taken it,” Gogoi said.
“Give it to me. I’ll deal the situation more firmly. The CRPF, which had been deployed there as neutral force, had failed. The people in the border are now demanding the Government to deploy Assam Police in the area,” he said.
“I have always been asking the Assam Police to use non-lethal weapons like rubber bullets and water cannons while dealing with mass protests,” he said. Gogoi said that the State Government had been dealing with the matter sincerely and that the Chief Minister had been personally taking up the matter with the Nagaland Chief Minister and Nagaland Chief Secretary.