Communal strife in Assam, 33 dead
Situation in Assam has turned critical and over 33 people have been killed.
By Bikash Singh, ET Bureau |
Ten persons were killed when police fired on a group who defied shoot-at-sight orders in troubled-torn districts of Darrang and Udalguri. Seven more died in clashes between Muslims and tribal Bodos in Udalguri. The death toll since Friday rose to 33.
At Mazbat area of Udalguri, it was a war-like situation with people, armed with bows and arrows , axes, machetes and sticks fighting a pitched battle. The death toll could be much higher.Thousands of people have started migrating to safer places. Clashes between the groups broke out on Friday over stealing of cattle.
Assam government spokesperson Himanta Biswa Sarma said it is not a clash between illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and Bodo tribals as reported by some media. ���The religious minority people residing in these areas are indigenous people,��� he said.
Udalguri remained tense on Sunday with frequent clashes between the two communities. Communal tension between the Bodos and Muslims has spilled over to Darrang and Baska districts. Nearly 98 injured are admitted in different hospitals and about 80,000 people are taking shelter in different relief camps.
Police sources said several houses belonging to Muslims and Bodo tribals were gutted as communal clashes spread to fresh areas on Sunday. A daily market at Dimakuchi was also damaged by miscreants on Sunday.
Hundreds of trucks are stranded on National Highway 52 in Mangaldoi area due to the situation prevailing in the districts. The districts are likely to face shortage of essential commodities and vegetables in this festive season.
���Nearly 30 youth were apprehended in the outskirts of Udalguri town and large quantity of bows and arrows and sharp weapons were seized from them,��� a police source said
Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi warned that he will take stern actions against those who are fuelling the communal flare up.
Talking to ET, Mr Gogoi said: ���There are reports that hint at involvement of National Democratic Front of Bodoland. The militant outfit at present has a cease-fire pact with the government. However, nothing can be said with certainty over NDFB involvement .��� he said.
���I have asked officials to inspect the camps of NDFB cadre. The outfit has designated camps in those areas. We will conduct a proper inquiry and if the outfit is found involved in the incidents , we will consider cancelling the cease-fire agreement. The government is prepared to order a judicial inquiry into the communal tension,��� said the chief minister.
PM convenes NIC meet
PRIME Minister Manmohan Singh has convened a meeting of the National Integration Council on October 13 to evolve a consensus on tackling the communal situation in Orissa and Karnataka, reports Our Political Bureau from New Delhi.
The Congress, which is under pressure from allies to take the extreme step against the Orissa government, had on Saturday demanded convening of NIC. At the last meeting of the Cabinet, the prime minister had also promised a detailed discussion on the communal violence in Kandhamal.
The Centre, which is against invoking Article 356 against the Orissa government, has been charging the government with not acting firmly against perpetrators of violence. Home minister Shivraj Patil had sent three advisories to the Navin Patnaik government to get its act together to check the violence.
Contesting the Centre���s charge, chief minister Navin Patnaik claimed that his government was doing everything possible to contain the situation. He had blamed the Centre for ���not sending adequate forces or helicopters��� to help the administration���s job.
���The district was left to fend for itself with available forces from August 23 to 27 when the violence following the killing of Swamiji Laxmananda Saraswati was at its peak. Though the state had sought additional forces on August 23, he said the first batch arrived in Kandhamal only on August 27 ,��� Mr Patnaik had said.
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