DIBRUGARH, Aug 24 - The district administration here clamped night curfew in the city, which is being enforced in all areas under the Dibrugarh Sadar Police Station jurisdiction since 8 pm today.
The curfew will be lifted on Tuesday morning at 6, said a public announcement by the administration, over the city�s field loudspeaker system (FLS). A magistrate said the night curfew is a preventive measure, given the tense environment in the city.
Earlier, the 12-hour dawn to dusk district bandh called by a section of people in support of their demand for awarding capital punishment to the killers of one Hemendra Dutta alias Bablu turned communal and volatile today, as cops lathicharged picketers and lobbed teargas shells in Borborooah to disperse a mob who pelted stones at a religious site and on policemen too. The situation invited clamping of indefinite curfew in the area by afternoon.
�Curfew had to be imposed in Borborooah area because the situation was turning volatile. The protesters attacked the police and also pelted stones at a religious site,� Superintendent of Police Rana Bhuyan said. The situation in the city was particularly tense in Amolapatty and Paanchali areas. Hundreds of people blocked NH-37 near Amolapatty intersection. They burnt tyres and raised slogans. The protesters demanded that the killers of Bablu be hanged. In Paanchali, several youths armed with lethal weapons were reportedly prepared to challenge potential attackers.
Bablu, a contractor and businessman was murdered in the intervening night of August 20 and 21. His body was recovered on August 21 morning from near the Yamaha showroom at Amolapatty. Police has already arrested three persons in this connection.
The bandh totally paralysed the city and its nearby areas as hardly any vehicle moved or business establishments opened. In the morning hours, several motorcycle-borne youths moved around the city and its adjoining areas to ensure that business establishments, educational institutions and Government offices were closed. The bandh picketers also prevented plying of vehicles due to which several commuters remained stranded. Hoodlums carried out their hooliganism, with the police remaining largely unmindful.
The curfew in Borborooah will be withdrawn only when situation improves, Superintendent of Police, Rana Bhuyan said.
