KOKRAJHAR, July 24 � An additional 50 companies of Central forces are on the way to Kokrajhar and other parts of BTAD to contain the unabated violence in Kokrajhar and Chirang districts, said Jayanta Narayan Choudhury, DGP, Assam.
Talking to media persons here, the DGP termed the situation as very tense and said that strong action will be taken against the perpetrators of violence and peace will be restore soon through the coordinated efforts of the peace loving people and security forces deployed in the area.
Five more dead bodies were recovered from Kokrajhar and Chirang districts today � taking the death toll to 25 � even as fresh acts of violence were reported from both sides of the conflicting groups. Several villages were also burnt down.
Meanwhile, BTC Chief Hagrama Mohilary appealed the State government to deploy Army to take control of the situation, indicating the failure of the civil administration to tackle the situation. He has strongly demanded sealing of both international and inter-State borders, including the Kokrajhar-Dhubri border along BTAD areas claming that some radical aliments are behind the incidents and that it is not a communal conflict.
Mohilary also appealed the Chief Minister to stop infiltration from Bangladesh immediately claiming that this is an act by some elements with vested interest from across River Brahmaputra and the international border to keep the violence from ebbing. He also said that the NDFB is in no way involved in these violent incidents and expressed the hopes that peace will be restored within a few days with the deployment of adequate security forces. He also said that he had had discussions with leaders of AAMSU, ABMSU and other minority organizations in efforts to see return of normalcy in the region.
Talking to this Correspondent, S Mewara, Principal Secretary, Food & Civil Supply, Govt of Assam informed that till now 49 relief camps have been opened in the BTAD area in which around 55,000 persons from both the community are taking shelter. Arrangements are being made to provide adequate relief materials, he added.
Five ministers, in addition to the DGP and other high level officials, are camping in Kokrajhar to monitor the situation. A five-member team, comprising leaders of APCC, BJP and Bajrang Dal, have also visited certain areas of Kokrajhar and Chirang districts today.
It may be mentioned here that for the last several days, shops and markets remained closed and people are in the grip of a fear psychosis following the violence. There is also a scarcity of essential commodities, like cooking gas, medicine, kerosene oil and even vegetables. The promulgation of Section 144 CrPC has added to the problems of transportation, impacting the day-to-day lives common people, daily wage earners, traders, etc.
Our Bongaigaon Correspondent adds: �We need adequate security force to tackle the violence and proper arrangement to provide relief to the inmates of the shelter camps. Moreover, I call upon the NDFB brothers to keep themselves away from violence in the interest of peace,� BTC Chief Hagrama Mahilary told media persons after a meeting with Minister Rockibul Hussain and minority student leaders at the Chirang DC Office today.
The situation deteriorated this evening as there were reports of further violence from about 60 villages in the district. Some of the villages were reportedly burnt down, too.
Hussain said that peace will return in the BTAD area soon as sufficient security forces are being deployed here soon and that shelter camps were set up at Gedabazar, Subhaijhar, Bhauraguri, Birhangaon, Raumari, Bijni, Kajalgaon and some other places in Chirang district.
Meanwhile, minority people at Bortola prevented Minister Nilmoni Sen Deka from going to Kokrajhar forcing the minister to return to Guwahati.
Moreover, following violence in the district, the Alipurduar Railway Division has cancelled all down trains today, sources informed.
