GUWAHATI, Nov 9 � Humanity has been put to shame frequently in the State that has become a hotbed of terrorist activities and every time it is the ordinary man struggling to meet his daily requirements who has to bear the brunt of the violence perpetrated by these extremist outfits. Targetting the innocent civilians who can do nothing apart from shedding silent tears has become the norm for those taking pleasure in bloodbath, but this situation has got to change as the common man is now past his endurance.
On Tuesday, the anxious kin of those injured in yesterday�s attack by the suspected anti-talk NDFB faction expressed their anger at the government and all the militant outfits for the escalating violence in the State.
Waiting outside the ICU unit of the Guwahati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Bimala Kalita, mother of Dwipen Kalita who was injured in the attack in Sonitpur district demanded justice for her son and for everyone who was targetted by the militants.
Dwipen was chopping vegetables at the small hotel in Batashipur where he works as a cook. In the evening two to three boys called out the owner Phani Kalita and fired at him when he came out. They then fired at Dwipen who sustained injuries in his stomach. Both Phani Kalita and Dwipen are now in the ICU of GMCH.
�My son is the only bread winner in the family. Since the demise of his father in 1996, he has been working at various odd jobs, even slogging it out as a daily wage earner to meet the family needs,� said Bimala, a resident of Bala village in Nalbari. This is for the first time that someone from Bala village has become the target of militants. Phani Kalita too is the only earning member in the family that comprises his wife and two young sons.
�The entire village is in shock. Dwipen is a hard working boy and we demand stringent punishment for the perpetrators of this bloodbath,� said Darparam Deka, uncle of Dwipen.
Rabin Deka, another relative of Dwipen could not control his anger when he pointed out that the innocent have always been victimized by those creating anarchy in the State. �Phani, Dwipen and most of the others who were attacked by the militants were from simple background. How long are we civilians going to pay the price for this dangerous gun culture?� he questioned.
If Bala village has for the first time felt how traumatic such incidents of terror could be, for Kekerikuchi, another village in Baksa district on Monday, it was a case of reliving the horrors of 1998 when militants had opened fire under the cover of darkness killing 17 people in and around it.
Sakuntala Das (55 years) of Kekerikuchi undergoing treatment at GMCH lost her husband in yesterday�s serial attacks by the militants. Both Sakuntala and her husband Mohan Das were having tea on their verandah when three youths opened fire at them, killing Mohan Das on the spot. �I don�t understand what the militants will gain by targeting poor people like us,� lamented Nagen Das, who is attending on Sakuntala and is the brother of Mohan Das.
Kekerikuchi since 1998 has been living under the shadows of fear. Echoing the sentiment of this village, Nagen Das called for peace and exemplary punishment to those involved in this crime against humanity.
