KOKRAJHAR, Aug 6 - Several persons were injured this morning after police resorted to lathicharge and fired tear gas shells to disperse a violent agitating mob at Chautara railway station in Kokrajhar district.
People came in hordes for a rail roko programme initiated by the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani (AAKRS) to press for a separate Kamatapur state as well as scheduled tribe status for the community.
The police initially resorted to mild lathicharge to disperse the unruly crowd but when the agitators attacked the on duty government officials and security personnel with stones, they fired tear gas shells. Five policemen were also injured in stone-pelting and five vehicles of the district administration, besides a media vehicle had been damaged.
Eighteen AAKRS supporters involved in the incident were detained by police.
Staff Reporter adds from Guwahati: Train services in the State were affected today due to a rail roko agitation by the All Assam Koch Rajbongshi Sanmilani. The rail roko was staged from 6 am at Chautara station under Alipurduar Division and Simaluguri station under Tinsukia Division of the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
NFR CPRO Pranav Jyoti Sharma said after removal of obstructions and certification of track safety, train services through Chautara station started again at around 1 pm. The agitation at Simaluguri station was also withdrawn at 1:45 pm, he said.
A large number of long distance trains, including goods trains, had to be controlled at different stations due to the agitation, while two local trains � Alipurduar-Kamakhya-Alipurduar Passenger and New Jalpaiguri-Rangiya Passenger � had to be cancelled today.
Meanwhile, the Dibrugarh-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and the Guwahati-Bangalore Express were diverted via alternative routes. �However, no long distance train was cancelled,� Sharma said.
