Retaliatory attacks in Sonitpur and Chirang, 4 Bodos hacked to death
The toll in the series of attacks by the anti-talks faction of the National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) militants reached 72 on Wednesday even as the bloodbath, which began on Tuesday, seems to have taken an ethnic turn after four Bodos were hacked to death by suspected Adivasi miscreants in Chirang and Sonitpur districts on Wednesday.
There were several incidents of arson in Sonitpur, Kokrajhar, Chirang and Udalguri districts. Houses belonging to both Bodo and Adivasi communities were damaged in the attacks. Police confirmed that suspected Adivasi miscreants attacked four Bodo people at a village under Behali police station in Sonitpur district on Wednesday. While two of them were hacked to death, two others escaped with critical injuries.
In a similar incident in Chirang, two more Bodo villagers were killed by suspected Adivasi miscreants. Police said that three civilians were killed in Dhekiajuli area in Sonitpur district on Wednesday when police resorted to firing to disperse a group of Adivasi agitators.
Police said that the agitators, who were carrying the bodies of six people killed in Bodo militants’ firing, ran riots after being stopped by the police near the Dhekiajuli police station.
Meanwhile, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday. He held a review meeting with Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, DGP Khagen Sarma and heads of security forces. Officials said that the Home Minister, along with junior Ministers Rijiju and Oram, will visit the violence-affected areas of Kokrajhar and Sonitpur on Thursday.
The fresh violence between the Adivasi and Bodo communities has came as a chilling reminder 1996 violence that left close to 200 people from both the communities dead and led to displacement of lakhs in Kokrajhar district.
The Tuesday killings by Bodo militants and subsequent retaliation have triggered displacement from Kokrajhar, Chirang, Sonitpur and Udalguri districts. Several people in and around the affected areas have already left their houses for safer places.
The Assam Chief Minister said that Army and Central paramilitary forces have been pressed into service to assist the State police in containing the situation and added that more forces are likely to arrive in the State soon. "Indefinite curfew had been imposed in parts of the affected districts. An alert had also been sounded across the State so as to prevent any such situations in future.
"Both the Army and Central Paramilitary forces have been deployed to assist the State police. I have informed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh about the situation. The Centre has assured to send 55 companies of Central paramilitary forces and 20 companies are likely to arrive in the State by evening," Gogoi said on Wednesday.
"The NDFB militants had targeted the innocent people as they wanted a soft target to retaliate police action against them. It's barbaric and inhuman. They have killed children and there cannot be any justification for such killings," Gogoi added.
"The Central Government has taken the matter seriously and we are going to deal with the militants firmly. We are not going to surrender before them. We cannot allow these forces to continue," the Chief Minister said.